The Plan
by Devils.magic
Summary: A fate that he, least of all, deserved. A fate that they all had unknowingly carved out for him. The fate that he accepted without speaking a single work against it. This is my first fiction... hope you all like it... Chapter 16 up... read onn..!
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Somewhere deep inside him was silence, quiet… completely devoid of the external pain that he felt… Quiet. Far from the troubles of the world. Tucked away safely deep within the warm ocean of his heart. Here nobody could touch him.

A fire crackled away in one corner of the room, its golden light making their shadows dance while all of them sat quite still in their places. Their hearts mourning. The loss was too close to all of them. Too sad for any of them to speak. It was like a thick blanket that covered them making it difficult for any of them to breathe. The darkness that enveloped their part of the world somehow seemed to over-power the dancing light inside the room and everything seemed to slowly fade.

He opened his eyes. The emptiness filled him with what he thought was a sadness that had the power to take the life of a million people. If he could just… would just… It was too hard to just stand there. He needed to keep moving. For the first time silence was what he was running away from. The same silence that disguised itself as peace when he closed his eyes, turned into a sharp sword that threatened to cut him into a thousand pieces now that his eyes were open. He had to keep moving.

And so he walked… forcing himself, every time to lift his foot, and telling himself to place it forward. So he walked… not knowing what he was looking for. His mind still dazed from the events of the day. Still unable to accept the harsh reality that was trying to force its way into his mind. It took everything that was left inside him to keep the doors if his mind from collapsing under the shear force of the pounding of that what was real. And so he walked… thinking that maybe his path would do the job of leading him now that his mind and heart had stopped both, thinking and reasoning. Thinking that maybe at the end of this path there would be a road and not a cliff.

He kept placing each of his forced footsteps ahead of him. Walking in and out of the lights of a series of street lamps that tried to light the compelling darkness. Feeling and not feeling the gush of wind that brushed past him and hearing but not hearing the sound that the leaves of the trees made when the wind passed through them. Then suddenly he stopped at the end of the light that fell from one street lamp and at the beginning of the other. His will to keep moving finally failing him as the doors burst open inside his mind. Guilt. Anger. Fear. Remorse. The path ended. It was a cliff. Another step and he would fall. But he wanted to fall. But he did not deserve this simple death. So he just stood. Looking ahead of him into the complex nothingness. Not even trying to figure out what it meant. Or did it have a meaning at all. He just stood. Is this what they call breaking point?

Acceptance. Kai had just sacrificed his life and pushed them all out of harms way. All that they could do is watch. Watch. Watch. Then finally not watch any more and see what their friend was going through to save them. A fate that he, least of all, deserved. A fate that they all had unknowingly carved out for him. The fate that he accepted without speaking a single work against it.

Rei stood there at the edge of the cliff as he let the facts seep in. Kai knew exactly what was happening. He knew who the masters of the great plan were. He knew that the masters were moving the pawns without even letting them know that it was actually a game. A clever game that had been laid out beneath their feet. Kai knew. As it was to get to him that the game had been laid out. But Kai also had the power to disrupt the very functioning of the game. This was one fact that Rei was sure of. But he just failed to see why Kai had played along even after knowing that _he _would lose in the end. He failed to see how even he, like all the others, had failed to understand Kai. Rei stood at the edge of the cliff…

In the room the crackle of the golden fire slowly died away. Darkness had won the war. Everyone was still where they were. None of them wanted to move the burden of sadness was too great for any of them to carry. Lost in their own world of chaos the four bladers unblinkingly stared at a world that felt cruel and cold.


	2. Chapter 2

Hi there everybody...!

I forgot to do this at the beginning of the first chapter...

Disclaimer: I DO NOT own Beyblade... (Just... can I own Kai? PLEASE? Cherry on top! )

Chapter 2

The energy inside the room was way too high... it was a party... the championships had finally ended, the obvious winners of the tournament being the Bladebreakres. Most of the teams were present to celebrate their victory. Tyson had managed to order all the items off the menu and more. He and Max had also managed to eat more than half of it all by them selves; it was some sort of an eating competition. Exhausted from all the hard work of chewing that their mouths had done, both of them had dozed off on the floor next to the table. Tyson's loud snoring mixing with the tuneless music that rattled the room at full volume, flatly ignoring complaints coming from other residents at the hotel. Every one was lost in the middle of a dance of their own, when, suddenly, there was a knock on the door. But they were all so high on the music that the starkly contrasting faint pounding on the door almost went unnoticed. Almost.

The figure that was staring out of the window seemed to have heard the noise. He moved swiftly towards the door dodging all the dancing disasters. The slate haired boy reached for the door and opened it, only to let in another bunch of squeaky girls who went into fits of giggles at the sight of him. Defeated he just stepped out himself, slamming the door shut on all the noise that had almost driven him mad. Then like always he started walking not knowing exactly 'to where'.

He dug his hands deep into the pockets of his jacket to shield them from the fierce cold outside the hotel. Tomorrow they would be flying back to Japan. Then training for the world championships. _Let Tyson have some fun he _thought _for now _a smirk painted his face pushing the blue triangular tattoos on his cheeks up, just a little, as he walked on. He knew most parts of Russia like the back of his hand, so it was not very difficult for him to weave his way in and out of the little lanes of this particular city. But more than anything, it was the frigid climate of Moscow that had always fascinated him, cause it was the cold climate of the city that, he thought, made his heart feel a little warmer than it normally felt.

He had hardly noticed that his feet had led him to a small park while he was lost in thought. It looked more like a garden actually, with a small patch of neatly cut green grass in the middle, lined with tiny yellow flowers. He made his way towards a bench that sat quietly under one of the larger trees that circled the garden and lay down on it looking into the dark green mess of sleeping leaves. Closed his eyes and took a deep breath trying to listen to the sounds that the night made.

Crack. He did not open his eyes at the sound, but tried to listen harder. Crunch. Someone was trying to walk without making noise. He strained his ears further, smirked mentally; _they always try so hard to make me feel at home whenever I am in Russia._ He waited for a few more minutes before getting to his feet again. A glance at his watch told him, 3 a.m. slowly he started retracing his footsteps back to the hotel. The biting cold, trying to wiggle its way through his thick black jacket. He realised that he actually had not gone very far away from the hotel. It was only a 15 minute walk back. But he had not let the appearing and disappearing of the tiny red light, not ten yards away from him, go unnoticed. _What are they playing at? filming my actions..._ _Really they just behave like small kids, _"Hn..." _irritating._

He made his way through the main entrance of the hotel. Lowering his head a little, causing his slate coloured hair to fall further into his face, shielding his eyes from the sudden inflow of bright yellow light. He walked past the empty reception desk, shooting a quick glance at the clock on the table, almost 3:20 a.m. Something besides the time caught his attention. The glossy glass of the watch also showed him the reflection of someone who had moved behind him. He paused for a moment and ran his right hand through his dual shaded hair, _I hope this does not get out of hand, _and then started making his way towards the elevator in the corner of the grand lobby. The elevator beeped open when it reached the ground floor, he stepped inside and let the glass doors close behind him, then pressed a button. The recorded voice of a woman said 'Fifteenth floor'. He looked up and saw himself looking at him from inside the mirror in front of him,_ need to sleep. _

The elevator doors beeped open again on reaching the fifteenth floor. Kai stepped out and instinctively made his way towards Tyson and Max's room where the big party was. _Hn_ the door was open. He moved into the room, all his senses alert. The party animals had left the room in a total mess and nobody had bothered to switch off the lights. But nothing suspicious. But he had to make sure so he unwillingly moved further into the destroyed room. There were several people sleeping on the floor including Tyson and Max, Tyson's loud snoring more prominent now that the music was thankfully turned off. It looked like nobody wanted to leave the champions' room. The couches were occupied by the three girls: Hillary, Mariam and Emily. Kenny was in the windowsill dizzy by his side. _Hn, where is Rei?_ Kai looked around once again; he finally spotted the Chinese blader sound asleep in a chair in the far corner of the room.

Reassured, Kai walked out of the messy room and towards his own room. In a way he was glad that Rei was sleeping in party infested room, he wanted to be alone. He put his hand into his pant pocket and retrieved a card and swiped it down the slot near the door. There was a slight electronic beeping sound and the door clicked open. He pushed it with one tired hand and opened the soundlessly. Stepping inside the room he let the door fall shut behind him with a slight thud. The room was dark. He groped in the dark for a while before he found the switches. Click. SLASH.

At first he thought maybe it was the sudden brightness that made him feel drained. But in a few seconds time he realised that the pain that was gripping his body had nothing to do with the brightness. He fell to his knees. Blood pouring out of his body. His hand automatically made its way to his chest where the source of the blood loss was. There was a deep cut there. The blood refusing to stop. SLASH. Another cut. This time planting pain across his back. Kai tried to open his eyes. Through his blurry vision he saw what he thought was a pair of feet standing in a pool of blood. His blood. The feet moved out from the reaches of his vision. Somebody roughly dragged him off the ground towards the middle of the room. _Two men,_ he counted trying to keep track of what was happening. Then he was thrown on to the bed. Unable to move he lay in the bed. His blood, now being soaked by the bed, was spreading around his body in a neat circle. Then he felt a needle being pushed up his left arm, warm liquid flowing from it into his body. Drowsy. Sleep overcame all his senses, _have to stay awake, _and forcefully pulled him down into a deep slumber.

TBC…

Please read and review… I hope its good… I know this chapter is a little slow… but its only the beginning of events…


	3. Chapter 3

Hey there people...The third chapter...

Disclaimer : Beyblade is not mine... But Kai is mine and mine only...! Mu ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha...!

Read on...!

Chapter 3

..._Two men,_ he counted mentally, trying to keep track of what was happening. Someone pushes a needle up his left arm. He felt the warm liquid from the syringe, making its way into his body, spreading ever so slowly. Drowsy. Sleep overcame all his senses, _have to stay awake, _and forcefully pulled him down into a deep slumber.

Two days ago -

"Time set, sir"

"Good"

A tall man seated in the chair at the very end of the long table was listening carefully as the five men that sat along its length argued and spoke, trying to set _his_ flawless plan into motion. They were shouting orders at a bunch of black suited men standing in the doorway in front of them.

"They leave for Japan in two days time. The job should be done before that."

"It will be, sir", the man standing in front of the group of men said. "I have already set one half of my team to keep track of what the boy is doing. We are not missing anything here and the target is completely unaware. He does..."

The tall man shifted and everyone fell silent. For the first time all through the 3 hour long discussion, he spoke. "Kai" he said slowly getting up, "is not unaware." He walked towards the group of men, hands behind his back, "He, in fact is very aware. Aware, that _something_ is happening." Suddenly, he pulled his hands from behind his back and straightened the man's coat collar, smiling. "Now," he lightly patted the man once on his shoulders. "I want you to let him know that _I_ know, he knows."

"B-but, sir that would change our plan drastically," a man from the table said in a almost inaudible timid voice.

"Yes , I am sure that it will. But this is my game and I would like, very much, to play it as I wish to," he glared at the fat man seated in the middle of the five. Then shifted his gaze back to the man standing in front of him, tiny droplets of sweat now visible on his forehead " ...and my move is, to let Kai know that he made a wrong move when he became aware of _your_ spies." With that he lifted his hands off the man's shoulders and walked back to his seat a the end of the table. "Please... continue..."

Present date – 1:45 a.m.

They had been waiting for over five hours now, for any sign of movement, by their allotted target. Two people in front of the 'Grand Moscow Marriott', one man a little further away on the left side of the massive building, another disguised as a florist on the back gate. They had the entire exterior covered. Even inside several waiters had been paid a handsome price to keep a strict record of the boy with slate hair and blue tattoos.

"...is still inside the room," one of the, now rich, waiters informed.

"okay keep us updated." The man ordered him from inside the navy blue car parked just a little ahead of the hotel's main entrance. Then cut the call.

"This is not going anywhere..." a defeated sigh left him. "the boy just does not believe in moving much, does he?" he looked at his partner behind the wheel.

"Actually I have heard different, Gera ... some fear he is a machine, training all the time..." Vlad said, stretching a little in his seat.

"Well, it sure looks like he has forgotten _training_ today." Gera was annoyed at the sluggish movement of events of the past hours. "... and we don't know why we are following him. I told you we should have rejected this mission, the man who hired us sounded like a freakin' machine himself." Suddenly, both their cell phone lit up and vibrated. A message; _'Target on the move, entered elevator at 1:50 a.m.' _Buzz. Another message. _'Target moving towards the main exit of Hotel.'_ Both of them turned to look, at the same time. Finally something was happening.

Everything started moving at lightning speed from than point on. Plan one was set in motion.

Gera made a call, "Follow him. We don't want to miss anything." The two saw the man they were speaking to, move quickly across the street and vanish behind the tree, the red light of his handy-cam trailing alongside him. Just then a teenager made an exit from the main entrance of 'Grand Moscow Marriott'. Hands in the pockets of his black jacket, he seemed to be quite disinterested in his surroundings, as he walked without even looking up to see where he was going.

1:50 a.m.

A waiter stood in the kitchen. Mixing vodka and coke in a large container, then poured the fizzy liquid into the empty coke bottles and carried them out.

He stood outside the room blaring music. Knocked. No answer. Again. No answer. Waited then pounded his fist on the door. It opened and a gush of sound waves hit him squarely in the face, and he almost staggered backwards.

The young boy standing inside snatched the bottles out of the waiter's hand and slammed the door in his face. _That was easy._

The pace of his walking was slow, calm. The man hiding behind the tree was capturing everything. Suddenly he turned left. The man quickly switched off the record button and ran as quietly as he could to look for another spot. Found. Perfect. He looked up. What? The boy was not there anymore. _Shit! He must know shortcuts_. The man dashed out from his newly found hiding spot and ran towards the very first small lane that moved out of the main road. No sign of him. The next lane. No. But he could not have gone far, he was walking at a snail's speed. The man frantically ran in and out of lanes for almost 10 minutes before he finally spotted the teen near a small park, still walking at the same speed.

1:55 a.m.

The night was silent. Two men got out of the blue car parked in front of the Grand Moscow Marriott, casually making their way towards the entrance. The lobby was ablaze with yellow lights. The receptionist was still behind her desk, filling out some information in one of the hotel log books. She looked up, saw the men and greeted them with a small nod.

"Hello, welcome to the 'Grand Moscow Marriott', may I assist you in any way?"

"Oh, Yes please. We would like to book a room."

"Certainly" she moved towards the computer on the desk, "name please..."

"Gera, uh.. Bobrov", they needed to tell the truth.

"Identification?" Gera showed his passport. The receptionist nodded, jotted down his passport number and handed him the smart card for the room.

"The room is on the eighteenth floor. If you could just wait, I will send someone to assist you."

"Oh, no that would not be necessary, ma'am."

"Ok, eighteenth floor left side of the hallway. Hope you have a good night." She smiled and got back to the log book.

The two men got into the elevator, pressed a button. The glass doors of the elevator opened. The men stepped onto the fifteenth floor of the hotel and were greeted with a blast of loud music. Even better, now their presence in room 1506 would definitely go unnoticed. At that moment a waiter passed them and handed them the duplicate card to unlock the room.

The man ran at top speed to catch up with the boy walking in slow motion. _I've gotcha now ya l'il bastard...! _ he said to himself, slowing down a little to keep a safe distance from his target. His breath was coming in large gasps from all the running. He pressed record once again and moved near the gate of the park. The boy lay on one of the benches under a large tree. The man moved from behind the trees that circled the park. Stopped when he got close enough.

He waited in the position for along time then moved a little ahead to get a better shot of the subject. CRACK. _Shit, _his foot had fallen on a twig. Carefully he lifted his foot. CRUNCH. _Fuck! _Now it had gone and fallen on an particularly dry leaf. He looked up. The boy seemed to have not noticed. Deciding not to move, he started filming his target once again from the spot. Then suddenly, the boy got to his feet and started moving out of the park. At the same, snail speed. The man followed him, this time making sure that he does not lose the target.

The two men swiped the card down the slot next to the door. The door clicked open to let them enter. They waited in the dark room for their victim's return.

The man followed the boy as he jumped over building walls, and walked through tiny lanes. _Gosh! He did know shortcuts! _ Within almost no time he had trailed the boy back to the hotel and saw him enter the lobby. He waited for him to walk a little further in. Then moved towards the entrance.

3:20 a.m.

He saw him stop and steal a glance at the clock on the receptionist's desk. He moved from the left side of the door to the right. The boy ran his hand through his hair and walked towards the elevator.

He typed in a message on his cell phone – _'target approaching room. Unarmed.'_ The long wait for the two predators in the room had finally come to an end.

3:05 a.m.

The same waiter entered the party room and turned off the music._ The vodka has done its job. _ Got out then casually walked out and disappeared around the turn at the end of the long hall way.

3:30 a.m.

Almost ten minutes later, they heard a pair of silent feet approach. The door clicked. Gera moved silently to stand directly in front of the door where the light switches were. He heard the boy feel the wall for the switches. Click. SLASH, Gera had struck even before the lights had switched on. In the sudden brightness he saw his victim clutch his chest and fall to the floor. Blood pouring uncontrollably out of the wound. Gera had been well warned against this particular boy, so just to be slightly more careful that the boy does not strike back. SLASH. He inflicted another long cut across the back of the already hurt teen. He saw him fall further down to the ground, his face almost kissing the pool of red blood around him. Gera roughly lifted the helpless boy by the collar of his jacket. Dragged him and threw him onto the bed in the middle of the room. Vlad, fished out a syringe filled with clear liquid from his coat pocket and injected the entire doze into the boy's body. Kai's eyes fell shut.

"what the hell were you thinking? That is a deep cut. He has lost a lot of blood." Vlad was furious.

"I KNOW." Gera was thinking fast as he punched a number into the cell phone. Ringing, "Get over here. And get a medical kit."

Two minutes later two uniformed hotel personnel entered the room.

Shocked at the bloody mess in the room.

Vlad snatched the medical kit from them, "Get the room looking spick n' span. Burn all the evidence. I don't care how you do it. DO IT"

The two snapped out of their shocked state and got to work. One of them ran out to get the cleaning material. And the other to the bathroom, to get a bucket full of hot water.

"Fix the front first." He handed the medical box to Gera who had now ripped open Kai's T-shirt, to get better access to the cuts.

Kai flinched slightly when the needle pierced through the skin near his wound. "I don't think the doze was enough" They continued stitching the wounds. Kai flinching, every time the needle pushed through his wound. Gera pulled out a sealed envelope from his coat and stitched a corner if it to Kai's body with the last stitch.

Once they were done the lifted his limp form and placed him roughly on the couch in the room. Then supervised the two cleaners. In no time the room was cleaned. All the blood stained material safely put away in the furnace of the hotel. The mattress on the bed which was the main problem had just been over turned for now, the two men would take care of it later. A fresh sheet was laid onto the bed. They placed the boy on the bed and covered him up to his neck with another thick sheet.

The time on the wall clock in the room was 4:36 a.m.

Before they left the room, Gera placed bandage roll some cotton and a bottle of antiseptic on the table. The four men walked out of the room.

"The hallway camera tapes should be taken care of." He ordered the hotel personnel. Before they made an exit from the crime scene they had just cleaned up.

The sun rose and the hotel was a buzz with activity once again. Rei was the first person to wake up. Completely dazed he walked past the open window through which light fell in and lit the room.

"Tyson, wake up," he said in a drowsy voice, then walked on and disappeared into the bathroom. Tyson sat up and opened his eyes. Shook Max a little, "get up Max", and fell to the floor again, snoring deeply.

Rei stepped out of the bathroom looking slightly more awake. "Oh my GOD...!" he was fully awake now. The room was a total mess. The bed sheet was hanging off the ceiling fan, he had not even the slightest clue as to how it had got there. The vase was overturned, it contents scattered all over the floor. There were soiled plates all over the place, bits of food lying on the floor along with Max, Tyson, Spencer, Lee and so on and so forth. Sticky cold drink patches were on the table and chairs and curtains and mattress. Broken glass, torn paper, ripped curtains, SHIT..!

"EVERYONE..! GET. UP. NOW!" He yelled at the top of his voice. The exercise fetched him an instant reaction from every soul present in the room as they almost mechanically bolted upright.

"Guys just look at this MESS! We need to set things straight, before the cleaning people come knocking on the door. They will KILL us." He said, as he ran to pick the vase off the floor. Nobody moved.

"Hey!" desperately, "snap out of it! And help me clean." They all started running around the room, trying to fix whatever could be fixed, although they all felt too Drunk? to move.

Room 1506

Kai was deep in sleep in the large bed in the middle of the room. The bright light that entered the room bounced off the shiny floor and tables. He stirred a little, his expression changing just for a second, to show pain. A faint shout reached his ears.

"...ryone. get... now..."

_Hmm... _he hummed, still asleep. The voice has set his thoughts in motion. _Two men, _he counted, a Click, a SLASH. His eyes flew open, heartbeat fastened, almost out of control. He sat up in his bed. The sudden movement drenching his body in pain again, making an _Ah!_, leave his lips. He looked around the room desperate for answers. He was sitting alone in the unrealistically clean room. But, he did remember blood.

He looked down at himself. One large cut decorated his chest and another his back, both stitched up. He felt drained, weak. He lifted his hand to feel the cut on his back. _Wait. What's this?_ There was a piece of paper stuck._ No, stitched. _To one end of the cut. He pulled at it, another jolt of pain shooting through his body. _A letter._

He ripped the envelope open.

_Wrong move, Kai. Now you know. The stage is set. The game begins. You know the rules, only you and I play. Enjoy._

Anger washed over him. He crushed the piece of paper in his hand. Clenched his teeth and got out of bed, ignoring the pain, fresh droplets of blood appeared on the stitches. Walked towards the table holding the bandages and antiseptic. Picked it and cleaned the wounds roughly. Put a patch of cotton across the stitches and wrapped his chest and back with the long white strip of medicated cloth.

_Okay! Let's play!_

TBC

Ok so that's that...!

Please review...

Hope m going the right way with this.

Also, m I the only one updating so fast? Gosh, really need to find myself some work don't I? He he... ne way... you people can enjoy whilst m jobless.


	4. Chapter 4

DISSSSCLAIMER : I don't own Beyblade...

But Kai *Sigh* I wanna own Kai.

Ne ways... the 4th chapter unfolds...

Chapter 4

Anger washed over him. He crushed the piece of paper in his hand. Clenched his teeth and got out of bed, ignoring the pain, fresh droplets of blood appeared on the stitches. Walked towards the table holding the bandages and antiseptic. Picked it and cleaned the wounds roughly. Put a patch of cotton across the stitches and wrapped his chest and back with the long white strip of medicated cloth.

_Okay! Let's play!_

In a TV room of the hotel a man watched, as the boy got off the bed and walked towards the table. He watched as he bandaged his wounds. He typed in a message in his cell phone. _The player has accepted that challenge. _

A guard standing behind the tall man seated in the chair at the head of the table read the message, then bent down and whispered the message to him. The man smirked, looked at the group of five men seated in front of him "so, the game begins."

xxxxxxxxxx

All the party beasts were running around the room trying to fix it. Someone had switched the music on again. Emily was standing on the half clean half messy table pretending it was a stage and lip syncing the song, Kevin, Mariah and Gary pretending to be the very noisy fan audience. Then suddenly out of nowhere Spencer, claiming to be ming ming started singing the song at the top of his voice. Kenny was ball-dancing with dizzy, Max was trying to stop Tyson from licking the food fallen on the table. They all stopped to listen to Spencer's masterpiece. Rei's temper was rising by the minute looking at the stupidity, he so wished that Spencer had left with the rest of his team. The song ended and Spencer took a bow. Then, _another_ song began...

Kai entered through the open door of the room. He was glad to see that the bed sheet was off the ceiling fan and back on the bed, but the rest of the room pretty much looked the same. He walked straight to the music system and turned it off, making everyone stop in the middle of what they were doing.

"I think last night was quite enough," he said as he turned. "We leave for the airport in half an hour," this time addressing only his team.

"But, our flight is at four, we can leave by 1 o' clock," Kenny protested.

"We leave in half an hour." He turned and walked away, not bothering to hear the other arguments.

"OOH! He makes my blood boil! Who does he think he is? Ordering us around like we are a bunch of little kids?" Tyson yelled once he was sure that Kai was out of earshot.

"He happens to be our captain," Rei said, the level of his temper had dropped, now that Tyson had stopped behaving like a dog. "So, let's get this place looking presentable. And then get ourselves looking presentable."

"OH MY GOD...!" Hillary was up on her feet all of a sudden, "did he say half an hour! Shit! I'm definitely gonna take longer than that to get ready!" and dashed out of the room, very conveniently leaving the cleaning to the others.

xxxxxxxxxxx

He chose to ware a black T-shirt and blue cargos with his usual white scarf. The outfit made sure his wounds were thoroughly covered. The strip of pain killers he had spotted in his suitcase was refusing to work. It took quite a bit of his rapidly diminishing strength to keep him up on his feet and moving.

Feeling terribly worn out, he rested his body on of the wall of the elevator, as it slowly started moving downwards. It reached the ground floor and the glass doors slid open. He straightened up. Deep breath. Stepped out of the machine. Walking, was becoming a bit of a problem now, he needed to rest.

He managed to drag his body as briskly as he could and sat down on the couch directly in front of the Reception desk. _A fairly good view, _he peeked at most of the corners of the lobby before sitting down. So far he had managed to spot three possible suspects that could eventually follow him to the air port. The man reading the newspaper, _newspapers always give them away,_ the waiter serving tea to an old couple, _he shouldn't have looked at me so many times _and the woman who appeared to be waiting for someone important, _its always good to include a female in your suspicion list. _

He let his eyes fall shut. Fatigue. The tiny wince went unnoticed by everyone in the lobby, as he leant back in the couch and let out a shallow sigh.

The sound of two heavy feet approaching awoke him. He felt tired. His tiny hands were tied to the arms of a tall chair. His feet barely touched the floor and a long piece of cloth was tied tightly across his mouth. The man stopped directly in front of him.

"You have done well Kai." _Grandfather? _Kai thought unspeakably confused.

"You have passed in all your levels and now finally, you are home. I am going to make you the greatest blader this world has ever seen."

Kai's vision blackened, he felt himself slipping out of reach...

He could have been sitting there for an hour. Two hours. Suddenly, "KAI!" he opened his eyes his wrist watch said, 11:25, it had only been about 20 minutes.

He looked at Tyson through half open eyes, still leaning back in the couch. "You said half an hour. So here we all are _within_ the given time, your Highness, at your service!" Tyson announced, bowing down to him in the middle of the lobby. Everyone was staring at the both of them.

Kai raised an eye brow "Sit down," he said, calmly.

"What! Now you want to stay in Russia? Come on! We should be going to the air port, your majesty."

"Our flight is at four. There is no point in going this early. We can leave by one," Kai repeated Kenny's words and he let his eyes fall shut again.

"WHAT! Kai! Why the hell did you get all of us ready this early, then?"

"Din' want you to get any of us late," eyes still shut. Tyson's mouth fell open. A dumb expression invaded his face. Rei just laughed. Max giggled and pulled Tyson away before he could manage to embarrass himself further, "Come on Tyson, let's go have a look at the coffee shop." The rest of people who had come down to greet them farewell, also dispersed wearing an irritated expression on their faces. "Call us when you actually plan to leave!"

An hour passed by, Kai, Rei and Kenny were in the lobby. The Newspaper man was still reading the newspaper _that's one long newspaper_, the woman was still waiting for someone important and it looked like the waiter had got 'Lobby' duty today. Soon Max, Hillary and Tyson joined them.

"Oh! I am so FULL!" groaned Tyson.

For five minutes everyone sat in silence. "Come on" Kai opened his eyes, "Let's go."

"I'll go tell them to get the bus." Max brightly volunteered walking towards the reception desk. They all got up and stood outside the main entrance. Kai's movements were still slow but he definitely felt better.

The BBA bus arrived. Kai was the first to step inside. He looked at every corner of the contraption on wheels and surely enough he spotted a tiny a camera looking down at them from the back of the bus. _Same old tricks. Don't think he has changed much in the past years._ He smirked and took his place, the second last seat at the window on the left side of the bus.

All the other team members had arrived in almost no time to bid farewell to the champion team. Kai just raised a weak hand to acknowledge the goodbyes shot at him. Finally when celebration time was over, the rest of the team got into the bus and they were on their way to Japan.

Their flight took off right on schedule.

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"Max! PLEASE stop DOING THAT." Every soul present in the cabin had turned to look at a Max who had managed to roll off the seat and fall on the floor. "Max! What were you trying to do?"

Max gave a sheepish giggle, "Nothing..."

BEEP "Passengers, this is your captain speaking. We are about to face some turbulence. I request you to kindly take your seats and fasten your seat belts." The orders fetched an immediate response. Kai looked out of the window. The weather looked unpromising; it was almost a deep shade of grey.

The plane gave a sharp shudder as it tried to brave the strong winds. But inside the people were holding onto their dear lives, some uttering silent prayers.

Kai clenched his teeth; the vibrations from the plane were not doing his wounds any good. The cut on his back rubbed harshly against the seat. The pain was getting out of hand.

The tremors stopped. The plane had won the war. Everyone waited for the captain's orders. BEEP 'this is your captain. We have passed through the danger. Thank you for co operating.' There were loud cheers and everyone started behaving normally again.

Kai felt blood from the wound seep into the thick layer of cotton. He bent a little ahead to avoid staining the back of the seat. Trying his best to maintain his calm expression, he abruptly got up and walked towards the bathroom. He stumbled a little near the last row of seats and caught the eye of the newspaper reading man from the lobby of the hotel. Mustering all his strength, he reached for the bathroom door. Fell inside and closed the door behind him. He dropped to the floor on all fours. A sharp groan left him from behind gritted teeth. His head swayed as he tried to fight the pain and steady himself.

After what seemed like a light year, he got to his feet and looked at his weary face in the mirror. Slowly he lifted his shirt to reveal his bandaged chest. He was right. The white bandages had now become red from soaking all the blood. He unwrapped himself and removed the patch of cotton. He looked around the small room for an alternative. _That should do,_ he pulled out a long length of toilet paper and placed it where the cotton should have been and then wrapped the red roll of medicated cloth back around him. He fumbled in his pocket for a while and got out the strip of painkillers, popped a few then leaned on to the sink, exhausted.

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"Kai," Rei was shaking him slightly.

"Is he dead?" Tyson said hoping to get a positive reply. "Shut up Tyson!" Hillary wacked him on his head. "OUCH!"

Kai opened his eyes. "Hnn..." _still weak._ "We are here. Are you feeling alright? You are running a fever."

"I'm fine." With that he got up, got his cabin bag and walked out with the others.

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The winds of Japan brushed past their bodies. The welcome committee was waiting for their arrival. Amidst the large cluster of reporters and photographers clicking pictures they spotted Mr. Dickenson and Tyson's grandfather. Happy expressions lighting up their faces.

They all were speaking at the same time. What are the next plans? How tough was this tournament? Who do you think are your future threats... the questions kept falling one after the other like bombs.

Mr. Dickenson very heroically pulled the team out of the mob and put them in the car.

Tyson let out a sigh, "God! They really love me don't they?"

"Zip it Tyson!" Kenny said, pointing at Kai who was leaning back in the seat of the car, eyes closed.

They had planned to stay over in Japan to train for the world championships, the country somehow felt lucky for them.

The car dropped them off at Tyson's dojo. All the travelling had left the team craving for some rest, so as soon as they reached home they all hit the bed and almost instantly fell asleep.

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It was late in the evening. Everyone was still asleep. Kai opened his eyes. The air was thick with the fragrance of soup and rice. Still feeling feverish he got out of his sleeping bag. Silently he moved out of the room.

A cool breeze swept past him. He walked across the open ground, and then turned to look at the familiar Japanese house. He did not realise that he was standing almost on the road. Lost in thoughts he kept staring at the house. There was the screech of tyres somewhere in the distance. He pulled himself back into reality. _Shit! Too late!_ From the corner of his eyes he saw a white car speeding towards him. It made to move, but the car struck, making him roll over its hood and fall on the other side of the road. The driver of the car got out to see if he had caused any damage,

"Oh! God! I am really sorry." He said in Japanese, running towards his accidental victim. "Did... I hurt you?" he switched to his broken English when he realised that the hurt did not look Japanese.

Kai had fallen flat on his face. His already hurt body hurt more, but he thankfully he didn't feel anything broken. He only suffered a bruised arm from the incident. He groaned and attempted to sit upright. Tyson's grandfather had arrived at the scene along with his flamboyant modern English language.

"Can't you see where you are going Dude! Or have your eyes decided not to work?" he said as he approached to help Kai. The man had already helped Kai to his feet, who swayed a little out of shock. The man placed his hand in Kai's and smiled.

Kai's eyes widened slightly, when he felt the piece of paper the driver had placed in His hand. He immediately got himself out of his grip with a jerk and crushed the paper into a smaller ball in his hand in a attempt of hiding it from Tyson's grandfather who had reached him.

"Come here m'boy. Let me.."

"I'm fine! Just that some people should learn proper driving" he shot a nasty glare at the man before he left.

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Kai could hear grandfather argue with the man as he walked away. He got into an empty room and slid the door shut, his entire body still sore with pain. He opened the extremely crumpled note.

_Its time I activated multi player mode Kai. Its time I destroyed your players._

Kai just stared at the note. _Shit! _

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TBC

Ok so what do you ppl think?

Please review...

I know its a little long... but many parts i had not planned have fallen in...

Sorry...

By the way... Thanks a million for the reviews.. i have tried to follow the advice (hopefully)

Until next time then...

BYE...!


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer : I don't own beyblade… but one day when I am super rich I shall own Kai…

Ne way… that's gonna be a loooooooonnnnnngggggg time from now…

Read read read…!

Chapter 5

He got into an empty room and slid the door shut, his entire body still sore with pain. He opened the extremely crumpled note.

_Its time I activated multi player mode Kai. Its time I destroyed your players._

Kai just stared at the note. _Shit! _

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"Let it RIP!"

Max managed to land his Draciel skillfully in the middle of the bey dish, and as soon as he held his hand out his blade very loyally and swiftly returned back to his master.

"Good. That was a good launch Max," Kai said standing directly in front of the player, "you will just have to work on the angle when it lands. The blade has to be straight."

"Alright!" Max accepted and stepped back a little readying himself to launch again.

Three days had passed since their return to Japan and Kai's body was still trying to mend three wounds. One that the world could see and two others that nobody knew existed and the painkiller's seem to have forgotten what their job was.

In the past three days he had also noticed that the spy count had increased by a few. Not even bothering to hide themselves now. They behaved like flies hovering around your head. It irritated the hell out of Kai just to know that they were constantly watching and reporting. But nothing drastic had happened. That too, because Kai had made sure that all the team stayed together all the time, which would make it easier for him to keep an eye on them. He had given them only just so many breaks and nobody had stepped out of the house for all of the three days which had made their spirits a little edgy.

"Ok, enough already, _Kai_! Can't we have a battle? Some _real_ training! Not kids stuff." Tyson grumbled yet again.

"This, is not kids stuff," Kai looked directly at him, "and besides today's schedule says launch training."

"Yes I know what the BLASTED schedule says. I'm just saying, after we launch we can have a small match, before we go and launch again." Hillary who was watching the training form the shadows with Kenny got to her feet, sensing the rising tension. "Umm… Guys… " she trailed off when Kai shot her a death glare.

"You can go inside and sleep, if you don't want to train, Tyson." Kai turned to look at Max again.

"I AM NOT GOING TO SLEEP! I AM GOING TO GET OUT OF THIS PALCE!" Tyson walked towards the gate of the dojo.

"You are not going any where."

"Wanna try and stop me? You can't make us work according to YOUR plans all the time!" and he stepped away and moved out of the house, taking the left that led to the city. Kai shut his eyes tightly and let out a very evident sigh. "Stay here… take a break… don't go anywhere till I'm back…" he ordered the others without even looking at them, trying not to let the urgency in his heart, spill in his words and then walked off. On his way out he saw a man look at him and type something in his cell phone, anger resurfaced inside him.

Kai walked briskly. He had to find Tyson and find him fast.

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It had been a long time since Kai and Tyson had left. Max and Rei trained for a while, then walked back to the shade to join Hillary and Kenny. It had been a lazy afternoon for them and the 4 o' clock sun was trying to peep into the house from behind the tree in the yard.

"Tyson should really watch his temper." Max said as he sat beside Kenny.

"Yes I know. But seriously, 'Launch' training can get on my nerves sometimes too. Even Kai behaves stubborn about the schedule." Rei was standing in the door frame cleaning Drigger. He looked at the entrance of the dojo, "wonder if Kai has found Tyson…" he spoke what he was thinking.

"Well, if he has… I am glad I am not there to see what is happening." Hillary got to her feet, "any way guys, I have _really_ got to be going. I'll see you tomorrow." She waved to her team and ran off.

The three friends sat in the daze for a while, not knowing what to do next. The sun had already started retreating behind the horizon in the east, raining down its final rays before it moved on to light the other side of the planet.

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Kai lay in a dark room, his body pressed against the cold floor. The room was dimly lit, almost dark and the wild silence was pressing against his ear drums.

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Evening turned to night. Kenny and Rei were taking a nap. Max wandered aimlessly in to the kitchen and grabbed a packet of chips, then walked back outside the house. He was the only one awake. Tyson's grandfather had gone out for some official work. He lazily sat himself down on the stairs, ripped the packed and started slowly munching on the slightly tangy, slightly salty chips.

The team did not bother running behind Tyson and Kai, cause this had almost become a routine for them. Tyson would very often lose his temper and Kai would then disappear for hours together. These would be followed by a couple of days of no talking between the two. Really, there was no point in going to look for the two.

Max lay on his back on the wooden floor and looked up into the ceiling. He let his mind drift off to America, wondering how his mother was doing. He hadn't had any time to talk to her since their return from the tournament. But he was glad that she supported his decision of sticking with the Blabebreakers. She knew how much this team meant to him and for that and more, he loved her. A smile graced his face and his eyes closed as his mind walked off in search of some fond memories of the past.

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Kai's mind still felt hazy. As the mist cleared, the events of the past few hours seemed to reform themselves. He remembered Tyson walking off. He followed, even spotted the younger teen. But after that, nothing. He hadn't the faintest idea as to what had happened after that.

But the floor that he lay on felt real. Just as real as the heart in his chest that now, was almost pounding.

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A pair of large rough hands forced themselves onto his mouth, making it impossible for him to speak. Someone caught hold of his hands and feet and bound them tightly. He tried to snuggle out of the ropes but it was no use. Traces of blood appeared where the rope rubbed against his pale white skin. His eyes were wide open but he could only see silhouettes of his kidnappers against the moonlight. He felt a sharp prick near his neck and instantly his eyes slipped out of focus. But before he lost consciousness, he saw a white scarf. Just like the one that Kai owned.

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Two men lifted the unconscious body of Max, put him in the car and drove off without a trace.

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Kai opened his eyes slightly. His body was stiff from lying in the same position. He tried to understand the situation from where he lay. The surroundings were totally new to him. This could not be the abbey, nor could it be his grandfather's mansion in Japan.

His mind was curious to know more about the place, but his weak body stood against it and forced him to shut his eyes once again.

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Tyson walked into the dojo slightly more cheerful again. He spotted a half empty packet of chips lying on the wooden floor outside the house, swiftly picked it up as he passed and popped a chip in his mouth.

He entered the room where Rei and Kenny were asleep.

"Hey guys!" he said, making Rei get up with a start. "Where is the rest of the battalion?"

"Who is the battalion?" Rei still sleepy. "I thought Kai was with you. I mean he did go looking for you"

"Hn.. _Kai_ is so stuck up in his own head that he'd never go looking for any one. He must have gone and _launched_ himself off to some other planet." Tyson flopped down on his own sleeping bag, "and besides I don't think I wanted him to come looking for me. I was so angry I would have stabbed his eyes out. Any way, what's for dinner I'm starving."

Rei just gave him a questioning look. Everyone knew that Tyson would never be able to do that to Kai even if he had a chance; Kai was just too fast for him.

"Well, I agree that Kai must have wandered off to another planet, but where's Max?" Rei said looking at the empty bag next to where Tyson sat. "Hope he's not gone looking for you guys."

"Heyyy… don't worry about him… Maxie is a big boy now. He can take care of himself! He'll come back when he finds Kai's empty _launch-pad_"

"Stop it Tyson!"

"Huh? Whose a launch-pad?" Kenny spoke still sleeping.

"Go to sleep Chief! We'll wake ya when dinner's ready."

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Kai tried to move. But his body was tightly bound to a chair. He felt slightly dizzy. It was the same room but whatever little light that had lit it before, was gone. There was nothing inside the room except him and large television set that was placed directly in front of him. All the walls of the room were made of mirrors. There was no way out.

Suddenly the television set turned on. Kai stared at the horrific picture the box displayed. He tried to move. He had to set himself free somehow, anyhow. He had to stop the mindless torture.

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In another room, Max lay on the floor his hands were bound and a cloth was tied over his face to obstruct his vision. His body was bruised and there were several cuts which were letting a generous amount of blood, flow out of his body. He tried to get up, but the man standing next to him aimed a sharp kick in to his stomach. Max just fell limply back on the floor.

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Kai watched Max fall. He was angry with himself for being so helpless. The television set switched off. Silence. His mind was racing._ Max! Where are you? How could I have let this happen? If anything happened to you, it would be my fault. I have to find him..._ "But. I'm. Stuck…" the last three words he said aloud, his teeth clenched as he tried to wiggle out of the ropes. Suddenly a second voice spoke.

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A group of six men sat in between the two rooms looking into them through the two transparent walls. Two way mirrors are such a boon. On their left a boy was almost dying from loss of blood. And on their right another boy sat helplessly bound to the chair, looking at the TV showing pictures of his friend getting tortured and making fruitless attempts to free himself.

"We have not got you here to hurt you, Kai." The tall man was looking through the transparent wall on the right, speaking into a microphone. "We meagerly want to tell you the rules to this level. Now," he paused "we have poisoned your friend." He saw the colour drain from Kai's face. "Don't worry. He is not dead. But he will be, in another hour, if you don't find him and get him to the hospital. Your time will begin once we release you."

Then he turned to the second wall and spoke into a different microphone. "Do it!" The man standing next to Max, pulled out a syringe containing transparent yellowish liquid, from his pocket.

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The room filled with smoke. Kai struggled to break the ropes that bound him to the chair. The desperation of the situation had blown his heart beat rate out of proportion. The smoke was making it difficult for him to think straight. His mind wavered slightly, but the need to find Max, helped him cling on to staying awake. His breath was coming in large gasps as the smoke in the room thickened. Then finally he gave up his attempts of breaking free, he needed to concentrate on finding some oxygen to stay alive. His body was slowly failing. Two masked men appeared behind him. Untied him, and dragged him out of the room through a door that would fit flawlessly into the mirror wall once it was closed.

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"Look, I'm starting to worry about the two of them now. It's really late!" Rei was looking out of the window. "You think we should go and look for them."

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Kai was thrown out of a car. He fell to the ground with a slight thud and rolled over. All the smoke had made the movements of his thoughts sluggish. His lungs still felt clogged. His vision was blurry. His muscles, stiff. Slowly he got to his feet, breathing with difficulty.

He stood in front of a massive rundown building, which in its time would have been grand. But today, the deep night gave it an eerie feel. Grass grew furiously in its gardens, unchecked and the creepers covered the walls like parasites. Some of the broken windows banged close and open as the winds tip-toed through the empty hallways of the building. Somewhere amidst that silent pandemonium, Max was fighting to stay alive.

TBC

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Ok… so then? What do u think?

Please review…! M waiting for your responses…


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer : I own nothing in beyblade… NOT even KAI! *tears* *sniff*

Read, read, read *sniff* read...

Chapter 6

The sun was shining brightly in the afternoon sky, its yellow light falling on the ground giving the grass a fiery green colour. A small bunch of kids played merrily adding to the warmth of summer, in the garden of a house amidst a little Russian village. The jovial laughter, of a slate haired boy, jingled through the meadows of the village, as he ran across the garden. They had made up an imaginary game of 'The King and the Thief', where Kai was the thief running away with all the treasures of the King's kingdom, and now the King's soldiers' were after him.

The children were so lost in their game that the towering figure that entered the garden of the house went unnoticed. The figure moved closer to Kai who was pretending to hide from his capturers. Kai took a step behind and bumped into the massive figure, then slowly looked up. A wide smile adorned his face, when he recognized who it was,

"Grandfather!" in his excitement he sprang off the ground and landed into the man's arms. It was only last summer that he had seen his grandfather, but it felt like a million years ago. But now he was here, he was finally here. "I missed you grandfather." Kai snuggled deeper into Voltaire's arms.

"Yes, my dear Kai. I am finally here," he said to his grandson returning his hug. Kai noticed a tall man walk towards them. He stopped behind Voltaire, like his shadow. _And this summer, my dear boy, I will break you._

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He stood in front of a massive rundown building, which in its time would have been grand. But today, the deep night gave it an eerie feel. Grass grew furiously in its gardens, unchecked and the creepers covered the walls like parasites. Some of the broken windows banged close and open as the winds tip-toed through the empty hallways of the building. Somewhere amidst that silent pandemonium, Max was fighting to stay alive.

_Max! _He bolted in through the main entrance, making his way through the tangle of the garden that had spilled outside its boundaries. When he got close he saw even more clearly, the pitiful state of the majestic structure.

The building floors were a labyrinth many small and large passages that criss-crossed over his head, it could have easily passed off for a Hotel. The lobby was sparsely lit by the moonlight which fell in through the large windows, the glossy floor, still visible through the thick layer of dust that carpeted it. He ran through the first passage on his left. A series of doors covered the walls on either side. Kai's heart skipped a beat. _Shit!_ It would take him several hours to check the hundreds of rooms of the building and he only had an hour, no actually around forty minutes… Max had to be taken to the hospital. His mind working at an unimaginable speed of its own, he kicked open door after door, briefly entering each room to see if he could spot his friend. But each time, no luck.

"MAX!" he was yelling on the top of his voice, hoping to get an answer, "MAX!"

It had been ten minutes; his body was threatening to crumble under the pressure of exhaustion and the wretchedly hurting wounds. This was not going anywhere. He slowed his pace a little, leaning against the wall for support. He had to recollect himself. Think like the man who had planned this pathetic game.

Firstly, he would never put Max in any obvious room. So he ruled out the rooms on the ground floor and the many others. Max was in a place where Kai might never be able to find him. The basement? The roof? Any possible storage place was something that he was looking for.

With his thought train back on track he dashed down the stairs to scan the basement, and the kitchen area.

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Two men saw Kai enter the building. Waited, then entered the garden of the old hotel, chose a spot and dug a hole big enough to accommodate the large suitcase they were carrying. After ten minutes of laborious digging, they very casually dropped the Suitcase in it and refilled hole. Kai would never find his friend.

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Kai was running out of time, he needed to move faster, think quicker. Twenty minutes of his one hour deadline had already passed, and he had just about made no progress. He had checked the basement and three of the massive lower floors there were still five more floors to go.

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The tiny cameras that hung off the ceiling were recording his every movement. Back in the room with the long table, the men watched these recoded pictures.

"I thought you said the boy was smart, Sir!" sneered one of the men.

His boss just smirked. _Oh! But he is._

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Kai quickly climbed the stairs, running through the aggressively dark hallways, calling out Max's name in case he heard. Out of breath. The wooden floorboards creaked under the pressure of his feet. _Roof. _ He thought his feet automatically, ignoring the floor that they had reached, turned in the direction of the roof.

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It was utterly silent. Max tried to open his eyes to see where he was. Pitch black. He thought he had gone blind. He felt weak. It was getting more difficult to breath with the passing of each second. His senses were failing.

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Kai kicked opened the door that led to the roof. He looked around frantically. _This can't be! _He sensed something move over his head. He looked up. Something that was almost as huge as him was falling straight down at him. He instinctively moved aside. Max's body fell directly in front of him. Kai's heart almost stopped working. He made to reach for Max. He almost touched him, when a shrill laugh escaped the body. Caught unawares, Kai staggered backwards. _A DUMMY!_ Ignoring the fake Max, he looked off the roof, to complete his roof-search.

That's when. _OF COURSE!_

He darted back down the stairs. Jumping, four steps, five steps, at a time. …Fourth floor, third floor, second floor, first floor, lobby. He bolted out of the entrance and jumped into the violently growing garden. A place where Kai would never be able to find Max.

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The light from the screen that showed Kai walking through the garden, reflected on their faces. Mr. Morozov, picked up his cell phone and made a call, "Stop the boy."

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The dimwit had hidden max in the garden, the place he thought Kai would surely not look. The bushes had all grown in uneven proportions, hiding the ground completely. It felt like walking underwater, each step came with much difficulty. His eyes fell on the lone tree that stood on the other end of the garden. A patch of ground under it was clearer in compare with the rest of the mad overgrowth. _NO!_ he ran towards the spot as fast as he could.

He was so determined on getting to the tree that he did not realize that someone had sneaked up behind him. He felt a hard hit on the back of his head and the world went black of a moment. Kai fell face first into the grass. His head pounding. He held it in his hands to steady himself. His consciousness was slipping. _NO, not now. Max, _he thought and made to get up. Another blow on his back pushed him back down. Blood surfaced yet again from his wounds.

He got up again, his ears caught the sound of the weapon that had hurt him, cut the wind somewhere above him. But this time he caught it just before it made contact and pushed it away. The man holding the weapon also staggered backwards. Kai straightened himself and looked at his attacker. The man had been taken by surprise at the strength of his teenaged opponent.

He ran towards Kai in an attempt to set another blow. Kai ducked and fell forwards. His hand fell on a large stone, it being his only defense he picked it and threw it at the man, hitting him squarely in the face. The man dropped the stick in his hand, clutched his face and fell backwards. Kai quickly picked up the weapon and inflicted a sharp blow on the man's chest, again, again. The man fell unconscious.

Kai ran towards the tree. Using the stick, he started digging. The mud was soft, like it had just been laid back into place. Within almost no time he hit something hard. He threw the stick aside and started digging by hand._ A suitcase! Max! Hold on… _with much difficulty he pulled that suitcase out from the depths of hell. His hands fumbled to open the zipper. With much doubt in his heart, he threw the flap of the suitcase open.

Max lay inside the suitcase. His body folded in an uncomfortable way. The white cloth still tied over his face and his hands still bound. Kai pulled his friend out and ripped the cloth off his face and felt his neck for a pulse. Faint.

Forty-five minutes of the one hour deadline had already passed. Kai tied the cloth over his own face, picked Max up and made his way out towards the main road. He placed his friend on the edge of the road and jumped in the middle of the road in a dire attempt to stop any of the speeding cars. Finally, one of them stopped.

"Hey! Here. Please my friend needs to go to the hospital. Please." Kai was at the end of his road, he didn't know how much more he would be able to hold on. He almost dragged the man out of the car and led him to Max.

"Oh! My god!" the man exclaimed when he looked at Max and opened his cell phone to call for an ambulance. "What happened to him? Where did you find…" he turn to bombard the questions at the older teen, but he was gone. The man frantically looked around, lost.

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The ambulance arrived in no time. The medics immediately reached for Max who was still on the ground.

"Pulse?" one of them asked the other, as he filled a syringe with some medicine.

"Faint. GET THE OXYGEN READY" he yelled at the other medics. "I think he has been poisoned. Don't think it's lethal but it has been unattended for a long time now." He said examining the patient's lips and body reactions.

They swiftly they lifted the teen's limp form and placed him on the stretcher.

"Is he the only one? You said there were two." The medic turned to address the man who had called for help.

"Yes there were," the man said still slightly lost, "the other one was seriously hurt too but, I was talking on the phone and…" searching for the right words. "Like, one minute he was there and the next he was gone. He was the one who made me stop my car. I looked around bu-but he… uh… I just could not find him, um… and he had tied this cloth over half his face, like he did not want to be recognized."

"Ok, you will have to accompany us to the hospital, as you are the only one at the scene. We will send a search team to look for the boy."

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Kai hid behind one of a particularly large bush, carefully listening to every word that was being said. He caught the words '_…Don't think it's lethal' _and breathed a sigh of momentary relief. Every muscle in his body was going to explode with pain. But he could not linger and be found. _Rules of the game…_

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Slowly he found his way back to Tyson's dojo. The lights were still on. He looked at the time, 2:30 a.m. He entered the house, Tyson, Rei and Kenny were asleep, but they had not changed. _They must have been waiting, _he walked into the room and picked up clothes to change into, a small medical kit, a large plastic bag and walked to the bathroom. Entered and closed the door with a soft thud.

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"Huh! Who? Max?" a soft 'thud', had dragged Rei out of his sleep. _Must be Kai, but I'd better check. _He sleepily pushed himself onto his feet and started walking out. But, the phone rang. _Ah!,_ _phones are so annoying._

"Hello"

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Ignoring his reflection in the mirror, he almost mechanically removed the roll of cotton and antiseptic, and started tending to the few small cuts on his arms. He would hide the one on his left arm with the cloth covering the bruise, and for the rest he would just make up a random story, not that any one would force him to say anything. He washed the mud off his hands and stared at the sink as the dirt swirled out of sight. Then washed his face, miraculously there was not a single bruise on his face, _Hn, he really does plan everything._

Then slowly he got out of his tattered and bloodied clothes and wore fresh ones, there were two very evident bruises on his back, one of them running right across the stitches making them swell slightly and ache. Tired, he let his body rest on the bathroom wall then, slowly slid down to the floor. He sat there for a moment, his thoughts wandered off to Max. Sleep overcame his senses…

Bang. Bang. Kai woke up with the sudden noise. He quickly collected all the clothes and bits of cotton off the floor and the sink and stuffed them in the empty bag then opened the door. Rei was standing on front of him, a worried look evident on his face.

"Kai, we have to go to the hospital. It's Max." Kai just stared at his teammate, _was I too late?_

TBC

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Ok..! poor Max is terribly hurt…. Hmmmm… I _wonder_ if he'll live! *Super evil grinnnnn*

Ne way, thanks a million for the previous reviews… they really make me a happier person…

Thanks

Please read! please Review!


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer : don't own beyblade.

Ugh... FINE... I don't own Kai either...

HAPPY NOW?

READ... as the fate of max will be decided after I'm done judging your reviews... :P

Chapter 7

The driver sitting inside the car picked up the phone.

"Go. Now." The man ordered from the other end of the line.

The driver cut the call and took off at full speed, hitting the highway in no time. He drove for five minutes. A boy with slate hair, almost doused in blood, was trying to stop vehicles. Another blond teen lay on the side of the road, in an unattractive heap. The man slowed down and hit the breaks as the slate haired boy jumped right in front of his car. The boy almost dragged him out and led him to the blond kid.

"Oh! My god!" the man faked the concerned tone. Pulled out the cell phone and punched in a number, "I need an ambulance. There are two injured boys in the city highway. I think it's an accident." His voice sound urgent and at the same time low. Just low enough so that the words did not reach the boy grey haired boy standing behind him.

He pressed the end button on his phone and turned, "What happened to him? Where did you find…" an inward smirk released the tension inside him. _Good, now it can definitely pass off as an accident._

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Kai closed his eyes, more out of fear that was consuming him from inside than anything else. On the outside he appeared to be calm, but inside, he was shivering uncontrollably, _what if my lack of speed cost Max his life?_ Tyson, Kenny and Rei were sitting on the chairs that lined the white walls outside the Operation theater. Kai stood next to them hands crossed across his chest as if in an attempt of stopping himself from falling prey to reality. His own breath coming in long gasps, going completely unnoticed.

The merciless silence was killing them all. It had been almost forty minutes since they had arrived at the hospital. Max was there. There. The doctors had not told them much. They just knew that their friend was hanging in the void between life and death.

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A sudden change in the climate had forced all the children to stay inside. The chatter and cheer in the village was replaced by howling cold winds. Kai sat by the window, looking out, lazily tapping its glass with one of his tiny fingers.

"Are we bored?" it was the first time the man had spoken since his arrival at Kai's home. His voice was raspy, hungry as if ready to consume everything.

Kai jumped. He had not noticed the man enter the room and stand beside him. He turned to look at him. He had never liked the man, there was a strange, unholy like energy that seemed to spread around him every where he went.

"Should we play a little game?"

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"Are you Max's friends? Is there any family?" a nurse had stepped out of the operation room.

"Yes, we are. His mother is in the US. She will be here in a day's time." Rei answered the questions. "Please can we know what is wrong with him?"

"Please follow me"

"But we would like to see our friend." Tyson started to argue. "We have been waiting here for a long time..."

"Yes, I know. But..."

"... without ANY _information_..." he pitch raised.

"Yes, If you could just come with me..." the nurse looks slightly taken aback by the sudden change in the atmosphere.

"...I want to see my friend. NOW!"

"You can't... ", the nurse said, fumbling to find some words.

Rei was trying to stop Tyson from yelling and Kenny was just looking at the two of them, not knowing what to do. They too wanted to see Max, know how he was doing.

"Tyson!" Kai interrupted in a frail voice. "I think we should follow her and we will get our answers faster." Kai already knew a part of the answer, it was the other half that his ears were longing to hear _'your friend is out of danger'._

The nurse gave Kai an appreciating nod and walked down the long passage, followed by the group of teenagers. She led them to a conference room and opened the door to let them in. There was already someone inside. Kai recognised him right away. He was the same man who had helped him on the highway. He looked at the lot of them entering the room. He casually glanced at everyone and gave a weak smile. He did not seem to recognise Kai at all. _Good._

They waited in silence, anxiety growing inside of all of them. The glass door opened with a soft squeak and a man in a white medical coat holding a blue coloured file in his hand entered the room followed by Mr. Dickenson, who appeared to be in a shock. Their wait was over.

"Did your friend have any enemies?" he said, without bothering to introduce himself. His expression was a mixture of an confusion, concern and curiosity.

"Wha-? What do you mean?" Tyson was the first to reply.

"Your friend was brought here in a bad shape and as far as my knowledge goes those injuries have come from torture. He had several internal injuries, many cuts and bruises..."

"What do you mean torture? We were told that Max had had an accident." Rei cut the doctor off.

Kai looked at the doctor and then the man. _ACCIDENT?_ He had had no time to ask Rei what exactly was wrong with Max. Also in a way he did not feel the need to, cause he knew.

The man was looking intently at the doctor.

"Yes, that's what it looked like. That's what this gentleman here thought too, because of the circumstances in which he had found your friend. But our diagnosis and tests clearly state torture. An accident cannot cause such surgically clean cuts. Your friend has suffered a lot."

"Yes I have seen the wounds and they are too precise to be a result of an accident." Mr. Dickenson still looked slightly dazed.

"But how can it be torture?" Tyson was looking at the doctor, unshed tears sparkling in his eyes.

"There was a lot of blood loss and clotting. He had also been administered with a small doze of poison." He said looking into the blue file. "... and I am very sorry to tell you that he is in a coma. We cannot tell you for certain when he would wake up. It can be tomorrow, three years or maybe even..." he trailed off, unable to contain his own emotions anymore.

The doctor broke the long silence that his words had created. "You can go and see him, now" he said, his voice sounding steady. He picked up the phone on the desk, "Please come in."

A minute later the glass door squeaked again and the nurse who had led them to the conference room entered. "Boys this is nurse Yuki. She will take you to Max."

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The machines beeped at regular intervals. The low and heavy sound of Max breathing filled the room which was otherwise completely silent. The five people present in the room looked like ghosts looking down at the blond boy lying in the hospital bed, his injuries completely concealed from view.

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_How could I have been so naive? I almost gift-wrapped Max and gave him to the bastard...!_ Kai had stepped out of the room. His mind was thick with thoughts. He needed to think of what he was going to do next...

"... if there is anything I can do to help..."

"Its not me who is going to need the help, its those children. I think you should be around for them."

Kai snapped out of the disarray of his thoughts, the doctor was walking down the passage towards him, accompanied by Max's 'saviour'. They spotted Kai looking at them and stopped near him.

"Doctor? About that other kid," the man said, looking at Kai, then at the doctor, "the one who stopped the car. Did you find him?"

"No the search parties have not found any one. But they are looking for him around where you found Max and..."

"Could you care to describe this, _boy_ to me?" Kai's tone was challenging, he looked directly at the man.

"Yes, he was about your height, same skin colour as yours," the man pretended to think hard, "but his hair was red, and I think he had _blue_ eyes." The man looked at Kai challenging him back.

_Tala! _Kai pushed himself off the wall that he was leaning on. His eyes widened momentarily, before the neutral expression fell back on his face.

"Do you know this boy?"

Kai realised that the doctor had been looking at him closely. "No. No, I don't think so." The doctor was still looking at him, "well I do know someone who fits the description, but he is back in Russia, I spoke to him just yesterday evening." The doctor seemed to relax a bit.

The intercom announced 'Doctor Hutaru you are needed in the emergency ward on the ground floor, Doctor Hutaru kindly come to the emergency ward on the ground floor'

Kai watched as the doctor rushed off towards the elevator, he did not even wait for the woman to repeat the sentence.

"Well you know, that boy looked very much like _you_" the man was watching Kai closely. A smirk had replaced the concerned mask on his face. Kai walked off and turned left to follow the path that led to the washroom, which was completely deserted. The man followed, "... You know, slate hair just like yours, blue tattoos on his face and I bet you have two massive cuts on your bo..."

Kai moved so fast that the man had no time to react. He swiftly punched him hard in his stomach and pinned him to the wall opposite the washroom door, the blade of his swiss knife pressing hard against the man's neck. "Where is Tala?" he saw fear grow in the man's eyes. "Where is he?" little beads of blood had started to erupt where the blade rubbed against the man's skin.

"If you do anything to me, your friend will die!" the man tried to threaten Kai in a desperate attempt to save his own life.

Kai' eyes narrowed, fury burning behind them. He clenched his teeth and pressed the knife harder on his neck, turning the red beads into a tiny river of blood.

"Please! I don't know wh-where he is. There is a note in my pocket, I was only asked to deliver it to you."

Kai reached for the man's shirt pocket and retrieved the note, pressed the blade against his throat yet again and then very reluctantly let go, leaving him gasping for breath. He scrambled to his feet looking at Kai like he would explode any minute.

"Your boss will kill you if you go showing that blood to the world." Kai's voice was full of hate and anger. He saw the man run away from him, then steady himself as he reached the end of the passage.

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Kai was holding the note in his hand, staring at it. He did not want to open it. He did not want to read what was inside...

The silent passage enhanced every little noise by ten folds. Even his thoughts seemed to echo adding chaos to the silence. The crisp white paper made a loud crunching noise as he opened it, not at all longing to see the words it held...

_This note reaching you is proof that you have passed the level. Congratulations. I am throwing a little party to celebrate your victory. Everyone from your old team has come to celebrate. They are DYING to see you! _

TBC

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Yesss.. so what do u'll think..!

Hope it was not too draggy...

Well and i have nt killed Max totally. He is currently hanging between life and death... so i can kill him whenever i want in the future... Mu ha ha ha ha ha ha ha... (I just LOVE being evil...!)

Don't forget to REVIEW...


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer : I don't own beyblade. *Sigh* If only Kai was real.

Wait, what m I _saying?_ Kai is REAL! And one day he shall be mine... _all_ mine...!

READ READRES READ... AND READERS, PLEASE REVIEW TOO...!

Chapter 8

Back in the dark room, the tall man sat back in his chair, looking at the wide screen displaying Kai, reading the piece of paper that he personally, had typed out. He smiled when the teen limply fell back and rested himself on the wall behind him, still staring at the paper in his hands, the weight of the words forming the message falling on him, sucking out whatever little energy that was left inside him. This was so much fun! He had always loved playing these games and had enjoyed it even more when the champion of the game was Kai. The boy just refused to give up! _Love is horrible; it makes you do insane things, and I love to see you suffer young Kai, I love to see you bleed, I __**love**__ to see you follow the rules of __**my**__ game._ He leaned forward, letting his fowl face entered the sharp light hitting the floor from above. Boris Balcov had a demonic smile stretched across his face.

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His entire world seemed to crash, as each word in the note sank in. He felt drained as his already aching body swayed slightly and he collapsed and fell back on the wall behind him. He couldn't let this happen. Tala. Spencer. Bryan. Ian. Where...? How...?

"Kai?" Hillary ran towards him, "I just heard about Max! where is he? How is he?"

Kai quickly shut his eyes pulled himself together. He calmly folded the paper and put it in his pocket.

"What's the matter Kai? Are you alright?" Hillary's concern echoed in the empty passage "and what is that you were reading?"

Kai straightened himself. "its something that should not bother you," he said, not intending to sound as rude as he did and walked past her. Hillary did not move from the spot where she was standing. He stopped at the end of the passage, "You coming?"

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"Hello?"

"They are on the move. Alert the others." A brown haired man spoke into the receiver of the phone. His voice hinted with worry.

"How do you know?" the voice on the other side of the line was questioning, unready to believe.

"Sources," the man lit a cigarette and took in a deep puff, allowing the deadly smoke to relax his body, "and besides, you know what he is capable of." He waited for a respond. "Look, I am only doing this because I don't want _any _of you to be caught off guard. We have already messed up with the blond haired blader, Max, and we are not about to make the same mistake again. All m saying is, be on the lookout."

"Hn." Pause. "Ok, given that we trust you. What should we do if they actually come for us? Tie little red bows on our heads and present ourselves to them?"

"No, _don't_ do anything foolish like that is exactly what I am telling you!"

"Then what about Kai?"

"I don't think he will be hurting Kai. I don't know why, but I am doing all I can to find out." He took another long drag, "and for the same reason I am gonna have to talk to you, I will be coming to Russia in two days' time. Just, until then keep your heads up."

"okay"

The line went dead. The man placed the receiver back on the phone and walked out of the telephone booth. He made his way to a tall building at the end of the road and climbed up the stairs. This mind was racing, trying to keep up with all the information in it. He reached his office. Still holding the lit cigarette, he entered and walked straight down the room to look out of the window. This case had been giving him sleepless nights. He knew that Boris was up to something, but all the clues had just led him to a dead end. Boris had ever been Voltaire's faithful dog and Voltaire never did anything without a reason. So, it was, for the moment, a certain fact that Voltaire was directly or indirectly involved in this, whatever it was.

He gave out a sigh, and turned to sit on the chair. A carpet of papers lay before his eyes on the desk, all of them leading him to, nowhere. He had managed to gather a lot of information, but it was all in vain. He put out his cigarette and picked up a paper from the corner of the table and looked at the small photograph of a young teen that was pasted on it. Guarded, crimson eyes looked up at him, raising questions that he had no answer for. _I need to get deeper into this._ He folded the paper and put it in the breast pocket of his coat, lit another cigarette as he walked out of his office. The door shut behind him, the nameplate reading 'Detective Samuel Stevens'.

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Morning had arrived swiftly and the bustle in the Hospital had gone up by a few notches. Everyone was waiting outside Max's room, looking completely worn out. Their eyes were heavy with worry and their minds were battling the fear inside them.

The concern, had not allowed them even a minute's sleep. They could not help but have the feeling, that Max would run out of the room and spread the joy that he was so well known for, with his innocent smile. But with every second that passed, their hopes crashed down, as the door of the room remained unmoved.

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"...keep your heads up."

"okay" Tala cut the call. _What is Boris up to?_

He flipped his cell phone open once again and dialled a number, the ringtone played for sometime,

"Hello"

"Ian, Boris in up to no good again, keep your eyes open." Tala spoke.

"Boris? But I thought he was history," Ian sounded slightly worried, "I thought he was in jail."

"Well turns out that he is not any more. The bastard slithered out of it, and much as I would adore to disagree, I have a feeling Voltaire is scheming again." Tala clenched his teeth. _Voltaire._

"What? Gosh this is _not_ good! Does Kai know?"

"Well, I also have the feeling that Kai _more_ than knows. Turns out that Max was kidnapped, and tortured. _Tortured,_ Ian! It was almost brutal. Well and knowing Kai he won't even say if there's something to say."

"Tala, where are you getting all this information?"

"This guy, Detec..." he stopped in mid sentence. "You know, I'd better not say anything over the phone. You never know..."

"Yeah, you are right."

"Can you do me a favour? Can you inform Bryan and Spencer? I will try and get through to Kai."

...

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"_... can you do me a favour? Can you inform Spencer? I will try and get through to Kai."_

"_yes sure. You take care Tala."_

A raven haired woman was carefully listening to the conversation between the two boys. She waited for a while after the talking ended, then pressed a tiny red button on her desk.

"Sir, the boys have a hint. Also, Tala received a call from a landline that traced back to a telephone booth in Japan. The speaker remains unidentified. The speaker plans to make a trip to Russia to meet our Russian targets. Also, he sounds like he is a part of the intelligence."

... she waited for a responce.

"Ok." Someone said from the other side. "This means we will have to make quick moves."

"Sir," the woman spoke again, "The Russian target, Tala plans to call Kai, but I have cut the lines as I was instructed earlier. He won't get through."

"Good. Keep a track of them."

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Boris was listening intently as the man standing next to him spoke to the woman.

"...He won't get through."

"Good. Keep a track of them."

The man lifted his finger that was holding down the red button that was beeping a while ago. He turned to Boris to see his reaction.

Boris meagrely smirked. "I have trained my boys well, haven't I?" he tapped his fingers on the table, the rings he wore making a rhythmic sound as they hit the hard surface in turns. "Hmm... And the Intelligence knows already... really it makes me wonder... _How?_" he said his voice laced with sarcasm. "let's toy with the intelligence for a while. Just till the harmless little rat hiding inside my home comes out." His smirk transformed into a smile. "Meanwhile, get me my Russian boys; I would love to _train_ them again."

"Sir, and what about Kai?"

"We let his mind drive him insane for now..."

The man left at these orders, leaving Boris alone. _Kai. You are going to be the guest of honour of my little party._

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OKIE...

One more character fell into this mess of a story...(god where the hell did that come from?) seriously that detective character was totally on the spot. Maybe I felt some Pity for Kai and decided he needed some help. He is not Superman, you know.

Any howz... please read the mess and review...! (Max is still hanging between life and death... Mu ha ha ha ha ha ha ha...)


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimerrr : Beyblade is not mine to own. But one day i will become rich and plot a super plan to own KAI...!

This chapter is truly evil... read to find out...! *narrows eyes* *super evil grin* ( + pointy teeth showing !)

Chapter 9

It was almost the end of summer. The days grew dim and the cold winds wailed loudly as they ran past the meadows of the village. The frigid climate was once again trying to slither onto peoples' homes.

"I thought I was quite clear when I told you what the rules were, Kai" Boris stood over the petite form of Kai lying in front of him, on the table on his stomach, a long whip hanging loosely from one hand. "Going running to mommy is not going to help here. Rule number _one_ says," he lifted the whip and brought it slashing down on the child's back. Kai let out a wail of agony, "never let anyone know of our little secret game, and rule number _two_ says," the whip slashed down again, trying to slice the little boy into two, making the boy yell again, "when you get punished for breaking rules, you DON'T make a SOUND," the devil raised his voice and Kai fell silent instantly, but the tears refused to stop falling. "...and you definitely don't go running to mommy anymore."

Exhausted, Boris threw the whip to one side and walked over to a dark corner.

"HE is a tough 'lil son of a bitch, your grandson," wiping the blood off his hands, Boris addressed the figure that was calmly standing in the shadows and watching his own blood get ruthlessly tortured, "but he will break."

Voltaire expression remained unchanged, "Get him fixed up, we need to get him home to his worthless Mother," saying he handed the clothes that belonged to his grandson to Boris, along with some antiseptic and some medicated bandage. Boris took them and threw them to the small boy who lay on the dirty table in the old shack, amidst the small pools of fresh blood and old blood that stained it, warm tears still silently falling from his eyes.

"Get up, you little piece of shit! And get dressed, unless you want a second round of beating." Boris relished the moment when he saw a small flinch shake the boy. He watched as Kai slowly got down to his feet, his legs refusing to take the weight of his body, he staggered and fell to his knees. But he quickly reached for his clothes and the antiseptic, giving Boris even more reason to celebrate his satanic victory against his harmless opponent.

Kai slowly opened the bottle of liquid antiseptic and poured it on the cotton that he held in his other trembling hand. Fumbling slightly and pouring some onto the floor. He shut his eyes momentarily, afraid that this mistake would cost him some more pain. Then slowly put the bottle down and started wiping the small lashes that decorated his left hand. The blood staining the cotton as it moved over the wound. Somewhere in the background he could hear the two men speaking,

"...I think his mother knows," Boris's low raspy voice said.

"Keria, trusts me too much, leave it to me to keep her off his scent" Voltaire looked over Boris's shoulder to see his grandson struggling as he tried to reach the wounds on his back, he smirked and looked at Boris. Boris turned and walked to the boy,

"We don't have all night you little twerp, we can't have your mother sniff the grounds and trace you to here now, can we?" he roughly lifted the child and threw him back on the table. He picked up the bottle of antiseptic and poured all its contents liberally on the wounds, making Kai's skin sting and burn. Kai bit his lip to keep himself from crying out aloud and screwed his eyes shut. He felt the burning and the pain double as Boris cruelly spread the liquid on his back using a tiny piece if cotton.

Boris pulled the boy up and made him sit straight, then bandaged his small chest. "Now, put on your clothes, or do you want royal treatment for that too?" he said curtly, making the boy quickly wiggle off the table and reach for his clothes. Once fully clothed, Kai stood trembling in the biting cold that was trying to invade the shack. He shivered herder as Voltaire approached him.

Voltaire smiled warmly and looked down at his terrified grandson as he handed him his thick coat. He watched as Kai put it on. Then, he lifted the tiny boy onto his arms and whispered to him, "come, Kai! Let's go home." He smirked as an almost inaudible sob left his grandson,

"Grandfather..."

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"Detective Stevens, your tickets to Russia have been booked for this Thursday early morning," the young woman on the other side of the line informed him. "Everything before Thursday is full. Would you like me to shift the timings to later on, in the day?"

"No, Kiyomi. The earlier, the better."

"Right. Any thing else, sir?"

"Yes, could you pull out those files related to the Russian fraud and child abuse, from the archives and have them sent to my cabin?"

"Yes, certainly sir."

Stevens replaced the receiver on the phone on his desk and rubbed his aching eyes for a while, then returned back to the papers that he had been reading.

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The constant restlessness was getting the better of him. Even though on the outside he appeared to be composed as usual, inside, was splitting into a thousand tiny pieces. A jigsaw puzzle, so messed up that he was left clueless as to where to start.

He had tried calling Tala and the others in Russia several times, but every time the line went dead. He knew that this was exactly what Boris wanted, but as much as he tried, he couldn't push out the ugly thoughts that invaded his mind. He had no clue as to where Tala and the others were. Even if he did go out looking for him, he had no clue as to where to start! With every passing hour, the anxiety inside him was doing the job of driving him insane.

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"Boy spotted. Location; West street, Market place, St. Petersburg."

"Keep him in sight. Wait for further the orders."

The man casually walked across the busy marketplace, pretending to be just another piece of the massive crowd, careful enough not to lose the young Russian and trying to catch each word as the teen spoke in over the phone in his mother tongue. He found a suitable spot and silently, click. Click. Click. He captured the actions of the boy.

"... where are you getting all this information Tala?" the teen said as worry flashed across his face, waiting for a response. He stopped in front the display window of a large shop flaunting a wide range of gadgets, not looking at anything in particular. He then seemed to focus on scanning his own reflection in the glass.

"Yeah, you are right." Another pause, as the teen scrutinized himself further. "Yes sure. You take care Tala." He said looking down at his feet, and let out a short sigh.

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Ian walked ahead, his reflection in the glass of the display window walking alongside him till the end of the frame. He made his way through the crowd as, his mind analysing the newly acquired information.

He retrieved his phone from his pocket again, and searched for a number, then pressed the call button,

"Spencer? Hi, Ian here. Bryan with you?"

"Yes, tell me. How have you been?"

"I was fine till about Five minutes back Spencer." Ian took another detour and entered a comparatively quiet lane.

"Why? What's the matter?"

"I got a call from Tala. He says Boris is on the move again."

"Boris? But wasn't he in..."

"...In jail. Yes even I thought so, but we all know how slimy he is, he got out. Just... Spencer I think we are being followed" Ian dropped his volume. "So, be careful, ok!"

"Yeah." Spencer was clearly shaken at the thought of Boris.

"Ok, I have to go now, but I'll keep you filled in with any other info. Bye." He cut the call.

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The man followed the teen, clicking pictures of his every movement, skilfully hiding himself from view. He watched as the boy got into a slightly old looking building, then let his camera fall down to his chest and typed a message on his cell phone.

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Three men sat waiting in a partially lit one bedroom apartment, on the third floor of a slightly old looking building. The cell phone of the man standing next to the window buzzed;_ 'Target approaching, defence status unknown.' _He read the message, looked up and signalled his companions, then typed a new message into his phone.

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The man standing outside Boris's room flipped open his cell phone as soon as he felt it vibrate. He read the message on the display of the phone and rushed inside, not bothering to knock.

Boris looked up and saw the man enter. He read the message on the man's phone. _'Target approaching, defence status unknown. Awaiting go ahead signal.' _ His eyes momentarily widened, the venom almost dripping out of them. A better plan had just struck him. He typed in a reply.

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The three men in the room took their positions. They quickly attached silencers to their guns and pointed them at the door. The soft, click sound, told them that the door would open. Any moment now. They tightened their grip on their guns. The door swung open, the empty doorframe left momentary question marks on their faces.

"MOVE! Catch the little bastard!" one of them had managed to snap out of the trance.

All the three ran at the same time. One jumped out of the window and onto the street. He swiftly ran around the building to its only entrance. Then ran back up the stairs, pointing his gun at every corner. He met one of his companion on the first floor, checking all the full and empty apartments for the boy. No luck.

The third agent had run up to the roof, roughly checking all the floors on his way. He kicked the door of the terrace open. Bingo!

The teen was skilfully walking on a rope that connected the building to its neighbouring building.

"Hey..! Stop! Come back here you little maggot!" He said in his large booming voice.

Downstairs, his companions heard the announcement, and looked out of the window at the end of the passage. Surely enough, they spotted the boy. They both moved at lightning fast speed. One ran down, back out and into the next building. The other ran to the floor below the roof, and looked out of the window. The kid had reached halfway. He pointed his gun at the boy and shot, the silencer muffling the sound almost completely.

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The bullet had just missed. Slightly panicked, Ian increased his speed. That's when the bastard fired another shot. This one hit the rope and it started to slowly split. Ian felt the threads loosening below his feet. He braced himself. The rope snapped. He caught hold of the rope and swung along with it, falling straight through a glass window of the other building. _Better than falling nine floor to the ground!_ The sharp shards of glass cut through his unprotected flesh.

He ran past the doors that lined the walls of the passage, to look through the second window at the end of it. Any escape would do. He crawled out of the window and jumped straight into the pile of garbage below. But, he had a feeling that someone had seen him jump. Wasting no time, he tried to swim to the shores of the pool of garbage, pushing the large bags aside. Almost out. He struggled to move, between the stinking, rotting mounds of wastes. Finally he stepped put, his head pounding from the all the intense bad smell.

Ian stopped in his tracks. He opened his eyes, only to see the barrel of a gun pointing straight at his face.

"Gave us quite a run din' ya? Ya little bastard!" the man was grinning an almost psychotic grin. The photographer behind him clicked a picture.

TBC

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PHEWW...! gosh... I wrote that at a stretch...! I think you guys know what's gonna happen next... *grinnn*

Not much of Kai in this chapter but. He is going insane thinking, and thinking and cursing himself for being such a worthless idiot. Remember? So I decided to let him do that in peace, he likes to be left alone in any case...! :P

Oh! Have been typing away on this laptop since morning...!

Hmmm... Please, review!


	10. Chapter 10

YEY 20 reviews…! I promise, in the next chapter I shall give you all a little treat…

Thanks a millionnnnn…!

Disclaimerrr : Don't own beyblade. But m workin on my evil plan which will help me own Kai…!

Ne ways, whilst I work on my Plan… you ppl read onnnnn…

Chapter 10

He sprinted across the street and down the long, tiny lane. The blood from the wound near his stomach was oozing dangerously onto his white shirt. He placed his right palm on it, trying to stop the uncontrollably flowing liquid. A tiny, _Ah…_ left him as he ran into the wall at the end of the lane. The impact almost making him fall to his knees, his agony doubled. He pressed his bloodied hand on the wall and clenched his teeth in a desperate attempt of lifting himself back up. His feet unwillingly supported him and he stumbled to his right to follow the curve of the lane. His energy levels had dropped drastically and his vision barely allowed him to see where he was going. But he had to keep moving, the people following him were surely somewhere close behind, and besides, if he stopped now he was unsure that even his strong will, would be able to help him start running again.

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Boris's wicked smile made Kai cower from inside, but he still stood his ground, looking straight into the man's eyes.

He chuckled at the boy's stubborn bravery, "I have a little task for you, my little hero. It's simple really, but if you fail in this, you will be paying a very big price." His smile grew wider,

"So, what do you want to know first Kai? The task? Or the price you will pay, if you are to fail?" He glared at the boy,

Faint traces of the conversation between Kai's mother and Voltaire from the other room were slipping into the silence between Boris and Kai,

"You hear your pretty mother there?" he said still glaring at Kai, "She will be the price," Kai's eyes widened and his lips parted in shock. Boris smirked, "But wait, that's not a big enough price! Here," he fished out some photographs from his coat pocket and flung them at Kai's feet. He saw as the small boy dropped to his knees and picked up the photographs that flaunted the bloodied figure of his father. Boris let out a small laugh, as the boy looked up at him, his innocent eyes questioning him.

"Now, let's come to the fun part, we will take you to the local hospital, you have to get into the morgue and retrieve something that we have hidden there." He turned to look outside the window, "I hear you are an exceptional blader Kai. I want to see your skills." He looked back at the boy who was staring at the photographs, "just remember that you will be playing for your parents' lives."

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Kai watched as Max lay in the bed, an oxygen mask attached to his face, to help him breathe, several other machines beeping somewhere in the background. He had offered to wait back while the rest of the team went to the airport to receive Max's mother. _I'm sorry Max! _ He thought, not really focusing on him. His mind was looking somewhere beyond the frail boy in front of him, trying to reach out to his friends in Russia. He felt so helpless, bound and unable to move, unable to even try to help them. How must they be?

The cloud before his eyes lifted suddenly, as his ears caught the sound of something being slid, then hurried footsteps running away. He looked at the floor. An envelope? His heart felt like it was trying to break some kind of a world record. He got up and walked toward it. Hesitating, he stood at the spot for a while, looking down at the object. Then he picked it up. It felt slightly heavy, like it was full of thick paper. He opened it and pulled out the contents. His universe collapsed as he looked at the first picture in the small pile. _Ian._

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Samuel had unofficially followed the 'Voltaire' case for several years now. He had also kept a close track on many of the other tiny cases that occasionally kept erupting here and there. But, in one way or the other they all were silenced, either by buying off the judge or by silencing the witnesses themselves. The 'silencing' done in such a way, that there was no trace of the witnesses' existence left.

Soon after Voltaire's arrest, the lawyer fighting the case against him and several of the agents who had brought Voltaire to kneel before justice, had miraculously got trapped in the same burning building, which turned them all to ash. That case was still pending in court.

Voltaire's little puppy dog, Boris had managed to stay clean of all charges. None of his 'students' were ready to speak against the man, as it was a given fact that 'Jail' was not enough to hold back Boris's claws. The man had managed to drill fear, so deep into his students that it got the better of them. The only teens that spoke were the Blitzkerig boys.

Samuel, put down the paper that he had read so many several times by now, "Yes, they spoke, and now Boris is planning to terminate them all, maybe," he said softly to himself.

He had been reassigned to keep an eye on Boris immediately after, he was given the clean chit by the court. A number of agents had been recruited to follow the man's every move. The reports said 'nothing suspicious' until one day a report pointed out an massive order of high tech machinery to be shipped in from the various corners of the world. Soon after which, another report said that the Abbey was up and functioning.

"But then, why in the world would he hurt Max?" he gave out a sigh, _this is plan had a double meaning to it, Boris had been out for a very long time now, he could have done away with the Blitzkerig boys whenever he wanted to..._

The ringing of his cell phone broke the train of his thoughts. He flipped it open,

"Hello?"

"I had to dispose off my cell phone. He is tightening the noose here, everything that we own is checked. I don't know how much longer I will be able hold."

Samuel wiped the thin layer of sweat in his face with his palm, as he heard his only direct connection to Boris speak. "You think he knows?"

"Rumors are, that he's been tapping the phones of the Russian kids. He knows there is a man from the intelligence, and a connection that connects that man and him. Honestly, he won't take long to sniff me out."

"SHIT!"

"Yes, and I'm telling you man, I'll shoot myself before he finds me."

Samuel sighed, "We need to find a connection between Kai and Boris. He wants the boy."

"What? Where are you getting this information?"

"You are not the only one working on this case. Now, I need you to dig deeper into the Biovault files and-"

"What! How much more _deeper? _I have reached rock bottom regarding the information, all those files that I gave you are all that were there in the freakin' computers man."

"Please _work_ with me on this. Those computers gave you everything, except any information regarding Kai. All his files were _blank_. Boris clearly wants the boy and he has done nothing without a reason, well, at least Voltaire has not." He held the bridge of his nose, "and secondly you need to find out if Black Dranzer still exists. Seduce a scientist if you have to, but the next time you call I want to hear progress."

"Yeah... right..." his voice laced with sarcasm,

Samuel managed to force a weak smile on his face, "and yes," he paused, letting the smile spread a little more, "Please don't shoot yourself."

He listened as the man slammed the receiver down. He hit the end button on his own cell phone, and then scrolled through his contacts, picked up the landline

"Kiyomi, I want you to cut my landline from the circuit. Make sure this number is not traced."

"Yes sir, right away." She cut the call.

A few minutes later he picked up the receiver again and punched in another number, then waited for an answer,

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His feet faltered making him fall forward. Panting heavily he tried to steady himself and toiled to lift himself up yet again. He could feel the bullet embedded in him, rub against the flesh somewhere above his stomach, sending streaks of pain through his body. He screwed his eyes shut. His body was strongly protesting against making any movements. He dragged himself, as fast as he could and hid behind the large dustbin placed against the wall. But he knew it was pointless. The blood would most definitely give him away.

Slumped against the wall he looked down to examine the wound that was still spitting out blood. He arched his head backwards and gritted his teeth in an effort to mute the agony that was trying to make him scream.

The noise inside him was so loud that the vibrations of his cell phone against his chest almost went unnoticed. He lifted a feeble hand and reached for the device. The name of the caller was a blur, ignoring it, he flipped it open,

"Tala, Boris is tapping your calls, get away as quickly as you can, don't wait for -"

"I know," Tala replied, his voice was coarse, clearly reflecting his suffering, _Ah…_ he adjusted himself, "I know."

"Tala, where are you? What happened?"

"I don't think that matters anymore, he has found me, just make sure that the others stay safe,"

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Samuel was stunned out of his wits,

"Tala, hang on, try to stay out of sight, I'm going to send hel-"

"- well actually that would not be necessary, he has all the help he will need," it was another man, "and I suggest that you keep your nose in your own business. Here's a little treat for you,"

There was a long pause. Samuel heard faint curses as Tala put up a small fight, then, the sound of two shots and something that sounded like the clicks of a camera, echoed in the phone,

"Enjoy," the man said almost threatening, almost mocking.

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"What's wrong with you, my little darling?" Keira's concern dripped into her tone as she sat next to the little form of her child. She was Kai's mother and much as Kai tried, she felt her son drifting away to some place she could not go. He had almost told her once, but had hesitated and decided not to. _Is someone troubling you at school?_ _Is someone bullying you? Why don't you talk to me… _"…my little angle." She whispered into his ear. Tears glistened in her eyes as she tried to stroke away all the worried that were eating her child. She sat next to Kai for a long time, gently moving her long fingers through his silky slate hair. Her silent sobs finally lulled her to sleep.

Kai opened his eyes and looked up at his mother. He snuggled close to her, _I won't let anything happen to you and Daddy. Ever…_

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TBC

So that's that… sorry fr the lateness… was slightly busy…

Ne ways hope you guys like the chapter… again not much of Kai… but come onnn, Tala got shot…! Aawww, poor guy…

He he …

Please review…


	11. Chapter 11

(Hey ppl. This is the same chapter... just that there were a few silly mistakes that i have fixed... thought they put down the story...)

Disclaimer: I don't own beyblade. But I shall own Kai before I die...!

Ok as promised the little thank you gift is in this chapter...

Read onn to spot it :P

Chapter 11

"Fix him up," a man's rough voice reached Tala's ear and he felt someone jump in next to him. The doors of the vehicle shut with a thick thud. Darkness. There was a small 'click' and a faint yellow light flooded the dark compartment. Someone flipped him to face the ceiling of the van, and unbuttoned his blood-stained white shirt. He clenched teeth as he felt a small metallic object being thrust in his body. Through his blurry vision Tala managed to see a man sow a thin thread through the eye of a curved needle.

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_Ian!_

His grip on the small stack of photographs faltered and they fell to the ground forming a small scatter of images. He got down on his knees and fumbled through the rest of the images just to watch his fears turn to reality. All the images were dark but he could clearly make out the faces of Ian, Bryan and Spencer. Hurt. Bleeding. The photographs raised a million questions in his head, the answers to which remained a mystery. _But wait,_ _where? _ He looked through the images again. _Tala, he is not here. _He dipped his hand into the pocket of his jacket, fished out his phone and dialled the red head's number. _Come onn.._

"Pick up", he whispered to himself. The line went dead after a few more rings. He just had to talk to Tala, find out if he was alright. He hit the redial button. No luck. _Redial..._

His heart sank when there was no answer after he had tried for the sixth time. He placed the phone on the hospital room floor and stared at the collage of photographs. He hadn't a clue as to where to start. He felt like a fool sitting there being able to do nothing, _nothing._ He punched his fist into the cold floor and a bolt of pain shot up his arm through his knuckles. He felt Boris's petty plan succeeding, and at what cost. He knew that Boris would stop at nothing. But what did he want _him_ to do? What was the point of all this? What did...

His thoughts snapped and he opened his eyes. The soft sound of his phone vibrating filled the room. Cautiously, he picked it up and looked at the small box on the top of the device, _Tala_... He flipped the phone open and brought it close to his ear. But he heard a familiar, odd rhythm of breathing and stopped before he said anything. He waited for person on the other side to make his move. A few minutes passed by. Kai tried hard to listen to the happenings on the other end of the line.

"Open the door Kai..."

Kai caught his breath and looked up at the door.

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Night spilled on to the city, spreading through the streets drowning it in its cheerless black. The dull lights on the eight floor of the hospital building brightened the aura of death, which was smiling in the face of the small boy who stood in the corridor just outside the morgue.

The haunting silence dug its claws into the child's heart as his every step echoed in the deserted hallway. He walked closer to the large double doors that opened into the morgue, his blade at the ready. He paused; his heart thumping against his chest, then pushed open the door with one tiny hand. The cold air inside the room rushed out and washed over his small body, sending fresh chills down his spine.

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A metal shutter slowly slid open and a black van, followed by another van that looked more like an ambulance moved into the shadow beyond it. Both vehicles sped down a steep slope to reach the basement, drove down its length and stopped in front of a small door that framed a patch of yellow light. Two guards holding automatic weapons stood at the door guarding the hell that was hidden behind it.

Boris strode down a long passage with three other men at his heel. His body was trembling with anxious joy. _Finally._ They reached a small door and walked out into the basement. The two guards bowed stiffly and moved away.

They continued to walk until they reached a group of three teens tied back to back with each other; all of them appeared to be fairly awake.

"We had to sedate them sir. The effect will last for another hour", the man standing next to the trio. Boris did not look at the man, but he had heard every work carefully. He stood there, with his hands behind his back and stared down at his old students. He noticed the small bruises and cuts on their bodies. He noticed the blood and the dirt that stained their clothes. His pupils dilated and he clenched his teeth as a sinister smile made his lips curl.

Finally he managed to tear his eyes away from the pretty sight and he looked up. His heart leaped with joy and he tightened his fists behind his back. His feet automatically started moving him closer to the boy who had caused him much trouble.

Tala lay on the floor of the basement. His clothes completely drenched in red. His shirt was open revealing two freshly stitched wounds. Streaks and droplets of dried blood stood out against the pale skin.

Boris inched closer and lifted the limp head of the boy with his foot, to get a better view. His smile widened at the sight of his agony ridden face,

"No matter how much you teach, there always will be a few students who will never learn." He held out his hand and someone handed him a thin long stick. He moved his gaze off Tala's face. Still standing, he examined the wounds on his chest and stomach with the stick. Jabbing hard, to make the boy wince even in his unconscious state. Making blood resurface from the sealed cuts.

Content with himself, for the moment, he turned away from the boy and threw the stick aside. A short man timidly stepped up and handed a file over to him.

"These are the reports of the injuries on all the boys. None of them are serious except the red head, who was shot at, twice." He cowered when Boris turned to face him and threw the file back at him.

"Move the red head to the experiment chambers and dump the rest in the cellars." He paused still staring at the man, "I want the red head to be fully awake when I meet him, or you will lose your existence" He relished the moment when the man's eyes widened and a visible shudder rattled his body.

"H-he will be awake, sir. Fully."

Boris smiled, "if you want to live." He patted the man's shoulder with one hand.

He then, walked towards the table which had several items disposed on it. Three cell phones, a few papers, pens, a couple of head phones... "I want everything dissected and examined to the last screw," he ordered and gestured everyone to disperse.

"Sir," one of the three men who had come with him spoke, he had his cell phone pressed to his ear, "it's from our telephone exchange, they say Kai is trying to get through to Tala's phone again."

There was a long pause, then, "patch him through." As soon as it rang a man picked the bloodied device off the table and handed it to Boris. He stared at Kai's name on the screen. He did not answer but meagrely smiled, _Desperation? This is so unlike you, Kai._

"Get it delivered." He said still staring at the screen.

A few minutes passed, "it has been done, sir."

Boris flipped open Tala's phone and dialled the last number. The call was received, but nobody spoke. His smile turned into a grin.

"Open the door Kai..."

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Two very dim lights struggled to keep themselves alive in the wild dark. Kai stepped inside. A few rows of corpses lay on freezing steel tables, covered with thin white sheets. The horrible stench of rotting bodies filled his nostrils as he moved deeper into the room. He jumped as he felt someone move behind him. He mustered all the courage in him and turned around.

A large man with long grey hair stood behind him. Several tattoos were carved into his hands and face. His eyes drooped and looked lifeless, as if trying to reflect the surroundings. He wore a torn black t-shirt and an extremely old pair of pants. His dead eyes looked down at the small boy, trying to cut through their victim. With one swift motion he lifted the boy by his neck and pinned him to the wall behind.

Kai's blade slipped out of his hand as he struggled to draw some air into his lungs. He madly kicked the air with his legs and caught the man's hand, trying to loosen his grip. But, it was no use. Then suddenly, without any warning, the man let go and he fell to the floor.

"Voltaire better not be playing a prank with me," he said to himself as he picked up the small blue blade and threw it at his unworthy opponent. "Pick it up," he ordered the boy.

Still out of breath Kai quickly scrambled to his feet, picked up his blade and got ready for a launch. He shut his eyes and tried to regain his composure.

"3..."

He thought of his parents,

"2..."

He had sworn that he would not let anything happen to them...

"1..."

He opened his eyes, fully aware of what might happen to him tonight...

"LET IT RIP..." he yelled his childish voice trying to compete with the heavy manly voice of his opponent.

The two blades rocketed towards the floor and collided into each other. Kai's small body was flung off the ground by the force of the collision. His blade wobbled slightly, but immediately steadied itself and shot back at the large green coloured blade of the grey haired man. It feebly struck into the green blade. Again. Again. The man laughed at the fruitless attempts.

"You should have finished school before trying to battle with me kid!" He slammed his own blade into Kai's and sent it flying into one of the walls of the morgue.

A sharp pain rose in Kai's chest as his blade crashed into the cold concrete. He let out a yell and sank to the floor. The impact of the green blade was immense but it was not enough to make Kai's blade stop spinning. The blue blade fell to the ground spinning dangerously slowly.

The grey haired man seemed to completely lose his sanity when he discovered that the blue blade was still spinning. Kai clenched his teeth and got back up on his feet. He gathered all the energy inside him and prepared for another attack. But suddenly the temperature in the room seemed to drop by a few more degrees. A chill ran through Kai and he opened his eyes.

The man's eyes blazed black and his body appeared to lose colour. It looked like he was soaking up all the remaining warmth in the room. The lights dimmed further and it became difficult to see anything. The green blade was emitting an eerie glow and was spinning almost a foot above the ground. Amongst all this chaos, Kai spotted a dull red light that momentarily sparkled next to the light bulb that was now flickering violently.

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"Open the door Kai..."

He caught his breath and looked up. The phone still pressed against his ear he got up and walked toward the door and prepared himself to fight whatever was waiting outside, as he unlocked it. He let go of the door and it slowly swung open.

The hallway was deserted. A lone envelope lay at his feet. He picked it up and ripped it open.

_The preparations of our little 'get together' have been done and you are invited to join!_

He stared at the piece of paper unaware that Boris had already cut the call.

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Kai stood in the doorway, oblivious to the surroundings. Oblivious to the fact that Max has stirred slightly in his absence.

TBC

Yes I know hiding is not going to help, so I am ready to accept it even if you guys hit me with your foot ware, for being this late in uploading chapter 11...

But seriously I would love to blame my new job for this. It just refuses to let me write.

*sigh* but in ne case... I really hope you ppl like the chapter... coz I donno y but this particular chapter was not easy to write. I was stuck at many points and was lost at many points and at one point scrapped everything and started again... but in the end I hope I've managed to nail it.

Well that I shall know only through your reviews.

So please don't forget to review guys...!


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: I don't own beyblade... I'd have been super rich by now if I did...! :P

Any howz... read onn...!

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A lone envelope lay at his feet. He picked it up and ripped it open.

_The preparations of our little 'get together' have been done and you are invited to join!_

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Max stirred slightly. The black mist in his head was clearing. The sounds of the world, were trying to wake him from the strange slumber which was forcing to keep his eyes shut. The low rumble of the machines around him slowly filled his ears. His heavy eyelids parted to show him a thin blurry line of his surroundings.

It took him a moment to realize that Kai was standing at the door. He tried to make a sound, to let him know that he was awake. Then suddenly, without warning, all the pain in his body seemed to resurface at full magnitude. His heart beats fastened. One of the machines next to him took note and began beeping at a crazy pace. Max remembered a white scarf from the night he was kidnapped.

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"Track them down," Samuel stood at the window screaming into the receiver of the telephone, furious that there was absolutely no news of the missing Russian boys.

"TRACK THEM." He yelled again and punched his fist onto the frame of the window. "I want to see progress when I get there. They had guns! Sniff around, there must be someone brave enough to spit out what they know."

Samuel had dispatched several of his most trusted men to scan the crime scenes that seemed to not exist. He himself, was still taking the Thursday morning flight, any hasty step from his end and Boris would know it was him helping Tala and it was important that this bit of information stayed under the covers, at least for the moment.

He slammed the receiver down and rubbed his palm across his brow, brushing off the tiny beads of sweat.

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The already dim lights of the morgue flickered madly as waves of cold rose and fell, sending chills through the young boy who stood with his back pressed flat against the wall. The man standing before the boy appeared to be possessed; the strands of his gray hair flying in and out of his face. His eyes were completely devoid of colour and his skin was as pale as the skins of the many others who lay dear in the freezing hollow.

A surge of energy left the large green blade as it slowly rose up, its spin lazed out to a meager turn. For the first time that night, Kai noticed the black bit chip attached to the top of the blade as it gave out a slight glint reflecting some of the dim chaotic lights. Another swell of energy poured out of the blade, this time pushing out Kai's blue blade, which wobbled slightly and stopped spinning at Kai's feet. Kai pressed back against the wall yet again in a hope that it would swallow him, shield him and take him away from all the insanity unfolding before him.

Small rivers of blood left the man's nostrils. Eyes fluttering open and shut at the speed of light. His arms he held apart as if readying himself to embrace whatever it was that stood in front. Everything seemed to slow down around the green blade that now hung in mid air. Suddenly, a perfectly round, pitch black shadow hit the floor directly beneath it. A jumble of black lines started to erupt on its edges, moving like fingers, growing as each second passed by, as if trying to get a better feel of this new place that they were in. Judging their way into this new world.

Kai pulled back his feet as one of the lines crept closer. He pressed harder against the wall, trying to avoid the chaotic shadow. But it grew and as it passed over the small body it groped its way over it, its long fingers moving over it. They had finally found what they were looking for.

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He stirred. His head was full of a jumble of events. His body felt numb. A distinct sensation of warm liquid was traveling up his left arm creeping into the rest of him. It painfully forced itself into the nerves if his body, making him wake up.

"He is moving," he heard someone say above him, the voice was faint, but it was there. He was not alone.

"Come on! Wake him up. He will be here any minute!" another man ordered. "Give me some light"

A flash of bright white light hit him in the face, trying to pierce its way into his eyes. There it was, he was running, running. But from whom? Where? And then there was blood, lots of blood. The light suddenly moved away and a splash of freezing water fell across his face, getting him awake instantly, giving him the knowledge of all his

roughly stitched up wounds.

He lay on the cold surface of a steel table. His hands, legs bound. Tala looked up, his vision gradually trying to adjust.

"Why is it that, only my best students are so hard to handle?"

Boris was stood beside him.

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One of the machines broke the silence that engulfed him. The maddening beeps told him that Max was awake. He turned to look. Max's weak eyes were barely open. His chest rose and fell rapidly.

Kai hurriedly gathered the photographs scattered on the floor and stuffed them down the front of his shirt. Doctors and nurses rushed past him into the room. Some tried to steady his fading friend and some tried to calm the frantically beeping machines, taking readings and pressing several buttons that were blinking red, just moments ago. They injected Max with something to calm him down. The room fell silent yet again. The medics slowly cleared out, everyone shooting a worried glance at the blond patient. A doctor stayed back and scribbled something onto the clipboard and hung it back at the foot of Max's bed.

"Please come with me." He said as he made his way out.

"What's wrong with him?"

"Please follow me and you will get your answers."

Kai followed the doctor out of the room and down the long passage. They walked toward the elevator. The doors slid open to let them enter. Kai watched as he pressed 'G'. He knew exactly where he was going.

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Boris stared down at the teen in front of him. Still recovering from the cold water splashed across his face. He watched as the boy slowly opened his eyes, weakly trying to lift his head, trying to see. He casually walked to the smaller table at the foot of the steel table and picked the small thin sharp blade, attached to the end of a long pencil like rod. The silver blade, slightly rusty at one end, glistened momentarily as the light fell on it.

"Why is it that, only my best students are so hard to handle?"

He said, walking back to look at his victim's face. He placed the instrument on the boys right cheek and lifted his head. The starving blade, slitting the skin and drawing out some more blood from the already drained body.

"Teenagers tend to be foolish. They don't try to think. Think of what will happen to them, if they testify against me," he said and casually lifted the blade off the boy's cheek and placed it on his chest. Slowly he sank the blade into his flesh, making his prey let out a yell. He savored each moment and observed as the already tormented body failed the boy's will to stay silent.

In his joy, he deepened the cut and pulled the instrument toward himself, finally forcefully slashing it out.

"But I know it's not your fault, Tala. You were always my nice student. I know who poisoned your mind," he threw the blade back at the small table "and he is coming to meet you." He brushed the boy's red hair out of his face.

He drew his hand away from Tala's face and looked at the man standing in the corner of the room. The white coat clad man scurried forward, "put him with the others," were the orders he got and he very loyally obliged.

Boris saw the man drag the redhead off on a stretcher. He locked his hands behind his back, standing in the middle of the dim room. The white light casting a sharp shadow behind him. His wait was finally coming to an end.

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So yaaa...! m so terribly sorry for the lateness. But the work is really really exhausting. Hopefully this will not happen again.

Any way. Please read and review.!


	13. Chapter 13

Disclaimerrrr : don't own beyblade... but Kai will soon be mine.

Read onnnnnn...

_(this is just to help u ppl link the past chapter to this one:_

_Boris saw the man drag the redhead off on a stretcher. He locked his hands behind his back, standing in the middle of the dim room. The white light casting a sharp shadow behind him. His wait was finally coming to an end.__)_

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Samuel sat at the desk in his office. The air was thick with cigarette smoke that almost chocked the dimly lit room. He was staring unblinkingly in front of him. Thinking hard. Trying to figure it all out. There was a mess of papers scattered before him, reflecting the utterly confused state of his mind. He had to, just had to find out where the boys were held.

He had got the police to do a routine raid of the ruins of the abbey and Voltaire's mansion in Russia. The old records of the scientists and employees of the Abbey had been pulled out and several of them were being questioned. But all of this, to no avail. These people had no idea.

The telephone broke in to his thoughts.

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A man in black clothes was watching the dojo from behind a tree that stood across the road. He could see three boys seated in the porch of the house. A young girl joined them carrying a tray that held four bowls. Everything seemed to be quiet. He dialled a number and spoke into his hands-free.

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"Detective Samuel here" he answered, his vision lowered to fall on the papers on his desk.

"All subjects clear" a man reported from the other end. "No signs of danger."

"Good, keep them in sight at all times and keep me updated."

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The small boy pressed back hard against the wall, trying to avoid the chaotic shadow. But it grew and as it passed over his small body it groped its way over it, its long fingers moving over it. They had finally found what they were looking for.

He felt like he was standing in the middle of a pit full of quick sand. He tried to move, to run, but all to no use. The shadowy fingers slithered over his small frame, trying to break his will, his strength. They ripped his shirt to pieces, bruising his pale skin as it curled themselves around his chest and neck, forced his mouth open and burst into his body.

Every fibre inside him was going to explode. He felt the shadow dart through his body as if trying to search for something. The comfort of the wall vanished as the shadow dragged him off the floor, in its desperate attempt to overcome its victim. Then something happened. Even through his closed eyes, Kai could feel something bright whiz past him and the next moment his body was free from the forceful grip. He fell to the floor of the morgue, his body still throbbing. He lay there for a while, wanting to just drift away into blissful sleep. Above him he could hear something that sounded like two massive balls of energy colliding against each other, lighting the dark of the room sometimes red sometimes a deep blue.

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Max's breathing steadied. The medics slowly cleared out, everyone shooting worried glances at the blond patient. A doctor stayed back and scribbled something onto the clipboard and hung it back at the foot of Max's bed.

"Please come with me." He said as he made his way out.

"What's wrong with him?"

"Please follow me and you will get your answers."

Kai silently followed, an anxiety growing inside him. He spotted a car parked at the gate with its doors open, waiting for him to step in.

The doctor who had led him to the vehicle gestured for him to get inside, "and stay low. We don't want to attract attention" He watched Kai as he slid off the seat and sat on the floor of the car, crammed between the front and the back seats. Another person who looked like an up-class businessman stepped in and sat on the seat, looking straight ahead. He than pulled out a small gun and pointed it directly at Kai's head, finger placed on the trigger, ready to shoot. The door slammed shut. The pretend-doctor slipped on to the driver's seat. Kai felt the rumble of the engine and the car was set in motion.

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Above him, he could hear something that sounded like two massive balls of energy colliding against each other, lighting the dark of the room, sometimes red sometimes a deep blue.

With all he could muster form within him, Kai opened his eyes and tried to look from where he lay on the floor. The first thing he saw was the body of the man lying directly in front of him. His eyes were wide open, as was his mouth. There were deep gashes across his face, a sticky black liquid oozing out of them. He dragged himself closer to the man in a hope to try and help him. He lifted himself off the ground and hurriedly reached one small hand out to touch the man's body. It had gone hard as a rock and was cold as ice. Through the flashes of red and blue he saw the little life that was still trapped in the man's eyes. They slowly turned to look at him, trying to tell him how much they wanted it all to just, stop.

Kai placed his hand on the man's chest to find a frantically beating heart. Unable to do anything to help he let his eyes fall back in the man's face. This time he saw something ghost like, drift out of his open mouth. It was like a dusty mist that was connected directly to the black malice above.

An agonised screech of a bird filled the room. Then everything fell silent. Kai stood in the pitch dark. The only sound he could hear was the slow spinning of the green blade that was still suspended in mid air.

He fell to his knees and groped in the dark desperately feeling around him. He knew that whatever had saved him, was losing the battle. He had no idea how it was going to help in any way. But the only thing he could do at this point was... _found it._

He got to his feet again and set his blade in the launcher. Then with all his might he pulled the chord and heard his blade spin and hit the floor somewhere in front of him. Minutes went by and nothing happened. There was no flash of red light. Silence and the sounds two blades, one lazy spinning and the other cutting the wind, murdered all the souls on the room, both dead and alive.

"Come on!" he yelled into the dark, "I know you are there."

Something hit him squarely in his chest and flung him back. He slammed against the wall and fell to the floor. "come-on" he said through gritted teeth. Somewhere above him he heard. Crack. And a faint red, momentarily filled the room. Joy swelled inside him. _It's working. _He shakily got back to his feet and stared up into the darkness. Hoping to see another hint of his victory and there it was. Another spark. It was absorbing the energy Kai was trying to give. Suddenly a burst of yellow and red flames emerged from the shadows. The screech once again filling the room. Kai saw the tentacles of the shadow trying to choke the flames.

"Come on, you can do it!" he yelled. The flames shot out and darted toward him. Circled around him once and shot back at the shadow. In its light Kai saw a black head of what he thought could be a bird. Flames hit it and all the darkness slowly dissolved. The lazily spinning blade fell to the ground with a heavy thud.

Kai's bruised body dropped down to the floor. His blade was still spinning. Through his blurred vision he saw it spin to a stop. He weakly reached out to grab it. It felt warm and the chip on it showed a bird that had wings of red flames. He did not know what it meant. He then reached out and grabbed the green blade. The chip had cracked, its edges were oozing out a black liquid like from the man.

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"What the HELL was that." Voltaire slammed his fist onto the window and cracked it. "Where did Dranzer come from." He looked at Boris "I told you to have the morgue checked! You and your stupid ideas with that kid have landed us into this unwanted mess." He barked at Boris. "You have let his father's bit beast has passed onto him!"

"There was nothing there. I checked the place myself. I don't know where that bird came from." Boris was quite calm, "but our job is done sir Dranzer will not hang on with the boy for long. The seed has been planted inside the kid." He pulled out something from his pocket, "Black Dranzer still lives. It was only a tinge of its essence in that chip."

Boris smiled, "and come to think of it, even if the bird does linger with the boy, we might just be able to pull out its strength and feed it to Black Dranzer." He turned his head to look at Voltaire, "Imagine the power!"

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He was awoken by the soft hum that filled his mind that helped him to slowly surface back to reality. He opened his eyes. His vision was still blurred. Still, crawled up to a sitting position, drawing energy from the warm humm. His head swayed as he tried to get to his feet. He stood there for a moment then picked up his blade in front of him. He could make out that the chip on the top of his blade was no longer empty. There was a figure on it, but it was all hazy.

He walked through the room and reached a wall full of what looked like large square lockers. Boris had asked him to open the fifth one from the left. He walked down the line. One. Two. Three. Four. Five. His mind had fairly cleared now. He stood there for several minutes, preparing himself for what was inside. Then, with all his strength he pulled the cold steel handle. The drawer slid open. He walked around to look at what was in it. His eyes widened and body froze. He could have been standing there for hours. Time had gone numb. Somewhere at the back of his mind the low hum was resurfacing. He held on to its faint tenderness. "Daddy?"

Warmth had long left the body that lay inside the drawer. The cheeks were sunken, skin was rough almost scaly. There were deep cuts that ran across its chest and scratched the face. Some dried blood still clung to the wounds. Kai reached out one small hand to touch the cheek of his father whom he loved so much. His Daddy.

"Please wake up daddy," tears swimming in his eyes. "You promised to take me to the theatre when you returned. Please wake up." Kai pleaded over and over again. But the body remained unmoved.

The humming in his head slowly grew louder. Kai stepped back. Then pushed the drawer back into place. He stared at the cold steel for several minutes. Then drank back his tears then turned around. on his way out he saw the body of the man still lying in the same muddle as before. Eyes staring into nothingness.

This was a state of shock that he would never be able to resurface from.

He walked out of the front gate of the hospital, letting his feet take him to the car waiting for him. Boris got out and opened the door, his face glowing with a twisted smile. Voltaire smirked as the boy got in. Boris rested his hand on the door-frame of the car and bent down.

"What did daddy give you Kai?" a thrilling joy filled him when the kid did not answer. He just sat there staring into oblivion. Boris slammed the door shut and few minutes later they drove away.

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It was getting more difficult for him with each passing moment. The stitches across his back and chest were aching beyond reason and the driver was almost cruel when he refused to slow down before speed-breakers. The journey seemed to be never ending. The car came to a halt. The man stepped out of the vehicle and held the door open for Kai to get out.

They had reached some kind of an old warehouse. The man in the suit was still pointing the gun at Kai. He motioned the gun forward ordering Kai to walk ahead. He watched his target follow the command. The three walked into the large building, and down the winding path that was surrounded by metal, wood and other junk. There were rows and rows of boxes neatly piled one on top of the other. With white labels stuck on them. There were red and black 'x' markings on several of the containers.

A large truck stood at the other end of the building. A group of workers were loading the same wooden containers on to the vehicle. They halted to look as the two men with a young boy approached them.

"Get back to work"

The man in the suit spat, pointing the gun at the workers instead of Kai. "Grant" he called out and a man scurried forward. "is the container ready?"

"Yes Boss. Please. This way." Grant led the way. they reached a large container, just large enough for Kai to fit inside it.

"Get inside" Kai did as he was ordered. He got into the container and sat down. The suited man squatted and looked the boy directly in his eyes. Still loosely pointing the gun at him. Kai's stare leaving him unmoved.

"Stay inside and don't make a noise, we have made sure you do not get detected in the container," he said rubbing the inside walls or the bo. "Our doctor here," he gestured, "is going to take good care of your friend while you go away. So, at least for his sake, don't make a noise."

"Where will I be taken?"

The man smirked, "I'm sure you got the invite for the party." He stood up "seal it."

He looked at Kai and smiled, "here's something for your journey." He pulled out a bunch of photographs and threw them at the boy along with a small torch. Before the lid was placed Kai caught a glimpse of red haired boy lying in a pool of blood. Darkness.

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Tyson entered the room with a dozen cookie packets in his hands.

"Ok Kai, you are off for the day. You can go home and res.. Kai?" Tyson stood in the doorway. The only person in the room was Max. The sound of his steady breathing resonating in the empty room.

"Kai?" Tyson let the packets fall on to the table next to Max's bed.

"Maybe he went to the cafeteria." He said to himself. _But really, Kai knows how delicate the situation is. He would never leave Max alone like this. _Tyson pulled out his cell phone and dialled Mr. Dickenson's landline. No answer. "I'm just over reacting, he'll be back soon," he plopped down on the chair and opened a packet.

The nurse entered the room for a check up. She noted the readings of the machines on the clip board, then hung it back in place. Then walked up to Max and placed a thermometer on his mouth, took the readings. Then shot a sad smile at Tyson and started to leave the room.

"Um, excuse me, would you by any chance know where our friend Kai is?" Tyson spoke in Japanese to her, "you know, slate hair, crimson eyes..."

"Sorry I haven't seen him."

"Oh, ok."

"But really you should be more worried about him," she pointed at Max. "your friend must have told what happened yesterday."

Tyson was completely confused, "What do you mean? What happened? Kai has not told us anything."

"The doctors have got him out of a very delicate situation."

"What?"

The nurse looked at Tyson, worry pasted across her won face. "You wait here," and she hurried out. Tyson dialled Rei's number.

"Rei, you and the others better get here fast. Get Mr. D along."

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TBC

Eerrrr... yaa... so thats that...

Sorry for updating soooo late. I blame my job. But i have written a long chapter to compensate for the lateness...

Ne ways, know this that i will finish this story, come what may. So you guys can stay tuned for more..!

But for now please RnR!


	14. Chapter 14

Heyyy... m sooo sorry for this LATE update... but a lot of hectic schedules have been hitting my part of the world lately..!

Well ne ways... enjoy chapterrr 14

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Dr. Hutaru sat at his desk with his hands held in front of his face, fingers intertwined with each other. The lines on his forehead deepened as he considered the events of the past evening.

"So, you mean someone was keeping Max sedated?" Rei was the first to break the silence, "and you want us to believe that all this was happening under your nose and you didn't know?" Dr. Hutaru looked up to meet Rei's eyes. He watched the teen get off his chair and walk to the window. "... and now Kai is missing."

Minutes passed when everyone seemed to make their own calculations. It was difficult to comprehend that max could have enemies who wanted to take his life. Hell, it was difficult to comprehend that max _had_ enemies. But yet, he was there in the hospital, hooked up to life-support systems.

"Judi is here." Hillary declared as she pushed the glass door which gave out an agitated squeak. "She is in Max's room right now," she gave out a small sigh and leaned her body against the wall.

Another long pause, "She looks awful, she said she was trying to get here, like... forever. But every time the flight got cancelled or delayed. Almost like someone didn't want her to come here," she said rubbing her forehead with her fingers.

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Voltaire turned the key in the lock of the main door and opened it. Their boots fell softly on the wooden floorboards as they entered the dead silence of the house. Boris half dragged Kai into the house, dropped him onto the floor and flicked the lights on.

The sharp ticks of the clock added a steady rhythm to the night. The world had moved on. But he was stuck, in that moment, in that shock, in that refusal. He kept travelling back to a place where his father was still alive, where he still could feel him, touch him, hug him. And he smiled. His head bowed low, hair falling into his eyes and his chin almost touching his chest. The smell of the hospital still fresh in his nostrils, he smiled.

He felt some one hold him tight. Pull him close. Someone lifted his chin and his eyes met a pair of blue eyes full of concern, worry. The smile still tugging at the corners of his lips, he tilted his head slightly and placed his small hand on his mother's cheek.

Kira cupped the tiny hand on her cheek, "what's the matter with you darling? What happened?"

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Flight no 451A Rossiya Airways going to Moscow has been delayed by five hours. Samuel rubbed his face in his hands. He should have been in Russia by now. Although the air conditioning kept the airport cool, little beads of sweat kept erupting on his forehead, keeping the anxious quiver inside him alive.

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The main door creaked loudly and disrupted her sleep. Eyes weary form yesterday's stresses and her hair tied up in a tangle, she got out of the bed. The sitting room lights were switched on; she narrowed her eyes and moved into the blaze.

It took her a minute to register the scene laid out before her. The door was left open and a simple breeze drifted into the house tossing the curtains. Two men were seated at the bar. One held a glass in his hand, twirling the liquid in it around before he took a sip, the other drank straight from the bottle. A small boy sat at the door his face completely hidden by his hair. His shirt was tattered exposing the dried blood caked around the numerous cuts and bruises on his chest and arms. She gasped and ran down the stairs.

"What's the matter with you darling? What happened?" tears glistened past her cheeks, as she held the tiny hand of her son. "Kai please... what happened?"

One of the men behind her gargled his drink, the loudly gulped it down. Kira turned to look at Boris, "What have you done to him?" Boris meagrely grinned and tilted his head to look at Kai. Kira stood up and stood in front of her son, shielding him form Boris's gaze.

"I knew there was something wrong with you, the day you stepped in my house!" she said forcing the man to look into her furious eyes.

"Yeah?" Boris raised an eyebrow, "You knew there was something wrong with me? And still you felt it alright to leave your only son with me? You really are a horrible mother," he smirked.

Kira turned to look at Voltaire, "You got him here father? This man? Can't you see he is destroying our family?" Voltaire stared at the drink in his glass and twirled it around again. "please say something father." The pitch of her voice rose, completely annoyed at the man's thick behaviour.

Voltaire set the glass down on the bar table and looked up, "I must say Kira, Eduard and you have made one fine child. Congratulations." He traced the rim of the glass with his finger, "the boy doesn't even flinch in the face of fear."

"What do you mean?" her tone was threatening.

"He means, love," Boris moved closer to Kira, "he has no more use of you now and he wishes to send you to his son."

Kira stared at Boris and did not move back even as he inched closer to her. "Where is Eduard?"

"Oh! I thought you'd never ask... Kai," Boris looked around Kira, "look, mummy wants to know where daddy is..." he brought his gaze back to her, "You wanna know here he is?" he whispered taking out a photograph from his coat pocket. And a dagger. He handed Kira the photograph, and rejoiced the shock in her eyes. Then stabbed her, once. Twice. Thrice...

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Kai woke, soaking in sweat, beating his hands frantically on the walls of whatever was holding him. Breathing like he had just run ten miles. He still felt the wet blood splattered across his face. He felt around in the small space, in search of something, anything. An object fell in his panicked grasp. He picked it and flicked it on and yellow light flooded the dark box. He sat there crumpled, soaked in his own sweat, panting.

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Dr. Hutaru lowered his hands and picked up the blue file on his desk. "There are two things I would like to say," he flicked through the sheets, "first," he looked up, "Max is going to be just fine the sedative they were using was not powerful. It just kept him out for a handful of hours," he paused for a reaction.

"Which brings me to point two," Tyson shuffled in his seat and narrowed his eyes looking intently at the man speaking in front of him, "this drug, it does not exist, well, at least officially. I had heard of it once before, but never encountered it. That's why I failed to detect it. It works at a sub-level." Dr. Hutaru pulled the sheet he was reading from out of the file. "It basically puts its victim in a deep state of sleep and creates an illusion of coma. Doing all this it manages to go completely undetected, unless specific tests are carried out."

Everyone turned to look in the direction of what sounded like a hundred fingers hitting a few keys, "_the drug is called 'Xedozephine' it was developed and used at th-_" he hesitated, then in a softer tone, "_... at the Boivault._" Unease brushed past the room, Hillary who was still standing at the door, walked towards Kenny. She peered over his head to look at the screen of his laptop and read further, "_Xedozephine was used to keep the subject asleep while tests were carried out and research was done, some of which left behind irreversible damage, scars and dreadfully unstable children. Further, this drug was used to..._" She skimmed through the many paragraphs reading important bits here and there on her way. "_... evidence suggest that breathing problems, psychological disorders, memory loss can be some of the more prominent after effects of Xedozephine._"

Another pause spread its havoc in the cabin. Dr. Hutaru rubbed his palm across his left cheek and heaved a sigh. "On the first day that Max was brought here, your friend, Kai said he was form Russia."

"So? What are you suggesting?" Tyson sprang up to his feet and shot a threatening looked at the Doctor.

"Tyson please calm down. Let's hear...," Mr. Dickenson looked troubled.

"What? What do you want to hear Mr. D? Some baseless bullshit about Kai? Well I..."

"Tyson please do..."

The doctor rested his elbows on the arms of the chair and raised his tone slightly as if to make a point, "your friend was here most of the time. He refused to leave Max even for a minute. He is from Russia and in my research I happened to stumble upon a 'Kai' who was a victim of the Biovault scandal. He is the grandson of a certain Voltaire who happens to be accused of running biovault." He leaned back in the chair, "and just look at the coincidence here, this Kai also _happens_ to look a hell lot like you friend."

"So you are saying...?" Kenny stressed on the gaping blank in his question.

"I am not saying anything here, things are speaking for themselves."

"Whatever your theories maybe Doctor, they are wrong. We would trust Kai with our lives." Rei turned away from the window.

"Well..." the doctor was now leaning back in his chair, "then you must know why Kai is not here with us today," he paused "he isn't here because he knows he's been sniffed out. He is..." he stopped to watch Rei walk out of the room.

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TBC

aahhhh... i know its a bit tooooooo long and not very action packed... but it sets the stage for all the action to follow...

Pleaseee reviewww..! u donno how much they encourage me to keep going...! :)


	15. Chapter 15

Disclaimer: Don't own Beyblade…

I couldn't wait… the events of this chapter kept bothering me… so I had to sit and finish it… Hope yall like it..!

Read onn…

Chapter 15

"Target in sight," he spoke into his hands free. The man was perched at a rather uncomfortable spot high above the ground, behind a billboard that sold a brand of batteries that claimed to last forever. His eyes fixed on the eye-piece of his automatic weapon; he waited for orders to proceed. Minutes passed when he watched his prey carefully, judging his slightest move.

A woman made an announcement over the intercom, informing the travelers about a delayed flight. The information seemed to have disturbed his target as the worries on his face deepened. He watched him as he rubbed his face on his palms several times, as if trying to rub off his unease.

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Kai tried to hold on. It seemed like he had been in the dark for ages. The small claustrophobic space had tried to drive him insane. It forced him to relive some of the most horrific experiences of his past. Every time he shut his eyes, his mind dragged him back to a memory he had struggled to forget.

He tried to concentrate on controlling his every breath. Head heavy with a pounding ache and every muscle in his body tense with pain, he felt like he was drowning, like he had only so much time left.

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The corridor was noiseless, occasional footsteps echoed through it then faded away. The white coated lab technician hid behind a wall the led away from the straight passage, at the very end. This area was not monitored; he had disabled the cameras himself. It has been several minutes since he had arrived, fear caught hold of him. _What if Boris found out?_ He bounced on his toes to shrug the feeling off his mind and shut his eyes.

"What do you have for me?"

He gasped at the sudden sound, "what took you so long?"

"Why did you call me here?"

"You must know I-I did not have a choice… they got it… and I had to…"

"Just get to the point!" the technician was behaving like a puzzle. It had taken him a long time to train this idiotic man. Ever since he had been working undercover, he had been searching for a loop-hole in Boris's design and had managed to find it just a few months back.

The man sold him vital information from inside the labs of a 'Biovault', which was striving to reform itself. At many points he had managed to help him go invisible when he had to have an urgent conversation with Samuel. This, on the telephone network the Boris constantly monitored. But then activities form his end came to an abrupt halt when news spread amongst the workers of a 'rat' inside Biovault.

Today, he had called him to meet. This must have been important. He watched as the man dug his hands deep into his coat pockets and retrieved something. _No!_ he was stunned. The technician handed the phone to him.

"They asked me to retrieve all the data. I tried to convince them otherwise, but they…" BANG.

He stared into the eyes of the technician as the man fell. Blood stained his white coat and he dropped to the ground. Dead.

"Well, you get the gist!" Boris walked in from behind him, "rats don't have a long life, do they?" he was looking at the man he had just killed. "Do they Daniil?"

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Judi sat at the foot of the hospital bed looking over her son, bundled up in bandage that hid his wounds from her. She sat there hoping that her presence added to his energy, somehow.

The doctors had already notified her about Xedozephine. How if the drug hadn't a role to play, Max would have been almost completely recovered by now. Even Judi could not seem to get herself to accept the suggestion that Kai was a possible suspect. She let out a sigh and once again looked at her son through the cloud of stress that had been building in her life for the past few days.

People kept walking in and out of the room. Constantly monitoring, taking readings, keeping his temperature in check, taking blood samples. She was even asked about food several times and every offer she refused. She just sat there waiting for a sign of progress in Max's health, distantly aware that all of his team mates were scattered around the room. All, except Kai.

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He was completely submerged now, lying on the floor of a massive ocean. The intense pressure in the water around kept him nailed to the ground, making it impossible for him to move. The pain he felt had risen to a height where he felt no pain, just a numb presence.

He had felt the ocean vibrate a few times; probably they were moving it to some place. He waters muffled all the sounds that tried to reach him and so he had to strained his ears to hear.

"… this one stays out of … scanner as promised." It was a deep voice, "but… will get … payment."

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"Your payment is waiting for you outside. You have done a wonderful job. Come let's take a walk, get some of that fresh air in our lungs, huh?" the tall man dressed in a black coat turned around and walked off. "Come on!" it sounded like an order and the heavily built airport worker obeyed, dragging along the trolley holding the box.

They walked until they reached outside the back of the airport. The night was old and the chilly breeze of Russia bit its way through their coats. The man stopped when he reached a large van. He knocked on the back door thrice and three other men opened the door and jumped off the vehicle. He held out his hand and one of the men handed him an envelope, puffed with too much money.

"Here you go. Your payment" the man held out the envelope. "Come on now, take it."

The airport worker hesitated, then inched closer and grabbed his money and quickly moved away.

"Load it," came the order and the three other men lifted the box off the trolley and pushed it into the back of the van. "Charlie, get the money back," the man in the black coat was fixedly looking at the airport worker. "He looks a little too happy with himself."

Charlie followed the directions.

"… and make sure you shut him up properly."

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"Judi, wake up," it was a voice that came from some place far away. "Judi, its Max, he is awake." As much as she longed to stay awake, there came a point where the tiredness and fatigue lulled her to sleep. Knowing that her son was close to her she fell asleep where she had been sitting for a long time, at the foot of his bed.

"Judi…" it was the excited voice of Hillary that was trying hard to wake her. "Please wake up." She bolted upright, the jolt making her head waver a little. She tried to focus on what was happening. Gradually the world stopped spinning before her eyes, her vision cleared and she could see Max sitting in front of her, propped up by several pillows. He looked completely drained, but that everlasting ever-cheerful smile still managed to brighten his face.

"Max!" she leaped out of the chair and gathered her son into her tight embrace. Her son, whom she had almost lost forever. Finally her tears fell free and she sobbed as she felt Max hug her back. "Max…"

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The devils of silence danced in the darkness of the closed cellar. With nobody else to go after, they merrily sliced the souls of the few present. They listened carefully to the wretched screams of those bleeding minds; a sound only they could hear, then ran their blades through them again to cut another portion.

Tala groaned in his sleep. His body had given in to the tortures, the meaningless pain and the thoughtless actions of one man who had weaved himself a pointless dream. In this dream this man saw himself rule the world. He motioned to get up, but a hand gently pushed him back down.

"You should rest," it was Spencer's voice that echoed in the cellar. Tala opened his eyes slightly, "you are running a fever again" he heard him say "here…" he slid the make-shift pillow he had made out of their tattered clothes, under Tala's head and brushed his red hair out of his sweaty forehead.

"… umm-he said he will come later. Is he here? I can he-ar him…"

"shh- there is no one here now."

The world was falling apart as the past threatened to haunt their present. It looked like the wrath of one man's insane dream was going to cost them their lives. They all knew that this was nothing to do with them testifying against Boris in court. If that was the reason, then why were they still alive? No, Boris was just a pawn. The chessboard had been laid by someone much bigger, and he was playing for both the sides.

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The air conditioning kept the airport cool, but yet little beads of sweat kept erupting on his forehead, keeping the anxious quiver inside him alive.

"Yes?" he answered his vibrating cell phone.

"They know. He knows," the man on the other end sounded completely out of breath, his voice was shivering. "He knows you are on this case."

"What?"

"The ce-cell phone I had dispose… he found it. I had thrown it into the river… he has all the data."

"Daniil you are not making any sense." Samuel stood up. "This is insane, where are you?"

"He is here with me,"

"Daniil?"

"Boris." Samuel held his breath, "I know, Daniil might not be making any sense. Well, how can he when there is a gun pointing at his head?" he gave out a fake laugh. "I have already decided what his future will be, and I am in the process of deciding yours. Run if you can."

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TBC

Aahhh…. That felt niceee..! I love to keep my characters hanging on for dear life…

Please RnR…!


	16. Chapter 16

DISCLAIMER: Don't own Beyblade. But do own all the extra characters I created. And of course Kai..!

Read onn..!

Chapter 16

"Boris."

Samuel's grip on the phone tightened, "I know, Daniil might not be making any sense. Well, how can he when there is a gun pointing at his head?" he gave out a fake laugh. "I sniffed out the rat you appointed in my office and I already know what its future looks like," there was a pause, then the sound of a shot being fired, "…and I am in the process of deciding yours. Run if you can."

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"Standby" the man tightened his grip on the sniper and took careful aim from his position behind the billboard, then waited.

"I'll count to five…" his ear-piece delivered the order.

"One…"

He watched as his target spoke over the phone. He noticed the expression of disapproval in his attitude.

"two…"

The target drew the phone away from his ear and looked at it in disbelief. Probably unsure of what to do next, he started to dial another number then gave up and flipped the phone shut.

The man on the other side was taking unnaturally long pauses.

"three…"

Almost time now. One number more and the target would be down.

Was he testing his patience?

"Four…"

Steady. His aim was right at the target's head. His target looked at his watch. Pause.

"Five…"

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It had barely been an hour and the room was already crowded making the atmosphere stuffy and chaotic. Everyone watched as an already dizzy Max was being bombarded with questions by two men claiming to be detectives.

"I know this must be difficult for you Max, but we need to know what we don't," they said trying to dig out all the information from inside Max.

He looked so pale Rei thought he might slip back into the coma he had just fought. He watched his friend rub his eyes and temples as he recounted the horrific events he would rather have forgotten. The fear he felt was so evident when he stammered.

"I don't know w-what they injected me with… I-I could feel everything… it was like all my wounds had a life of their own. I felt pain that just cannot be explained in words…"

Every just listened as he spoke, every time swallowing a lump that would form in his throat. "I didn't know where I was, I did not know what would happen to me. I did not know why I was there in the first place. They just kept hitting me and injecting me with stuff that made me hallucinate. It was… just… just…" he shook his head and shut his eyes, small beds of tears slid down his cheeks.

The detectives let him gather himself, "Max, please tell us if you saw the faces of the kidnappers. Or anything that coul…"

"That's enough" Rei was looking at Max who appeared to be in shock. He just stared at the two men like they would explode any minute now. "That's enough for today. What do you think you people are doing? Would you mind giving him a breather…! I think it's time for you to leave…"

The men hesitated then realized they had pushed a bit too much and made to leave. Tyson walked up to comfort Max who was still staring at the same spot. "Max? Are you alright brother?" he placed his hand on Max's should as if to hold him still. "Max?"

"Kai…" it was barely a whisper, but everyone seemed to have heard.

"What about him Max?" Judy suddenly pitched in to the conversation. She looked intently at her son for an answer.

"What is it Max?"

"I saw him… " he sounded terrified. "I saw Kai that day…"

"What? What do you mean you saw him?" Rei's concern was obvious.

"He was the one who took me that day…"

Rei looked at him, his judgmental eyes trying to look through him for a possible explanation. The two detectives stopped in the doorway, taking note of every last detail of the situation.

Max finally looked directly at Rei.

"Are you sure… "

"Yes…" he dithered, "… I mean, I saw his scarf," he looked away, "… and his voice, I remember hearing his voice… I don't remember what he said, but I know it was his voice."

xxxxxxxxxx

Light poured into the dark void that had surrounded him. Someone lifted him out of the small space and dropped him onto the floor. They dragged him by his ankles, his body dragged against the smooth cold floor that pierced through his feverish skin. His slate hair wet with sweat clinked to his forehead and his parched lungs clawed at the inside of his chest. A dry cough left him as still they dragged him.

The feel of the floor suddenly changed, it was carpeted and rough now. Its musty smell was fairly overpowering, adding fake warmth to a place that was made of cold souls. A flame crackled like a little girl giggling, laughing at the rules of the world. It danced and scattered its flickering light around the room.

A numbing heat was radiating from his body, it made his bones ache. His chest rose and fell as he struggled to draw the oxygen from the air. The scars from so long ago, seemed to be slowly opening up.

xxxxxxxxxx

This was his place, up, above all else. He had for long yearned to be here and now, finally the time had come.

Its blades slashed through the air as it landed in the clearing amidst the slumbering forest. Black was the colour of the night. The winds around the chopper settled and disappeared beyond the tall trees. Silence took over and everything remained unmoved for a while. People rushed into the clearing to welcome their leader. The doors of the chopper slid open and the overpowering figure concealed within it stepped out. Boris rushed forth and bowed slightly,

"The pieces are set to move." he straightened himself to look at Voltaire.

xxxxxxxxxx

… The target drew the phone away from his ear and looked at it in disbelief. Probably unsure of what to do next, he started to dial another number then gave up and flipped the phone shut.

The man on the other side was taking unnaturally long pauses.

"three…"

Almost time now. One number more and the target would be down.

Was he testing his patience?

"Four…"

Steady. His aim was right at the target's head. His target looked at his watch. Pause.

"Five…"

He pulled the trigger and certain as it was his target fell to the ground.

The airport atmosphere lost its composure; people watched in dismay as blood spread around the fallen man and stained the floor. The police hastened to the scene, medics were brought in and instantly, the crime scene was sealed off. The bloodied body of Detective Samuel was carried out of the airport.

The man watched the chaos for a while, relishing the fear that slithered through the air. Watched as the anxieties of the onlookers made the atmosphere tremble. Watched as the bloodied body of his targe was carried off…

-Target exterminated-

He typed the message in the message window. Send.

xxxxxxxxxx

TBC

Please don't forget to review…! It really helps me..! =D


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